Three's The Charm
by MissCHSparkles
Summary: Time Travel fic. It's the end of the Battle of Hogwarts but the price has been high. The Golden Trio dearly wished that they could have done more to save lives and fate decides to grant their wish. Follow the Golden Trio as they redo their years at Hogwarts, starting from First year and work to make a difference in the wizarding world. Suggestions welcome.
1. Chapter 1

_Author's note. There are an awful lot of time travel stories out there, the majority involving Hermione or Harry being sent back but there's rarely one involving either Ron or the Golden Trio. So I got the idea to try and write one myself, this is for Golden Trio fans._

_Just to be clear, this is not a crack fic so it won't involve Harry and the others running around like headless chickens, messing up everything for everyone because they are apparently on drugs. Also, no brattiness from anyone, this is very important._

_Heh, not good at Hagrid's accent so apologies for that._

_Enjoy and please review._

It was over.

As Harry watched Voldemort's body fall backwards, everything seemed to slow down. The looks of shock on everyone's faces seemed to be frozen with some caught morphing into frenzied joy and a few into horror. Harry could feel his heart pounding heavily but it appeared to be the only thing in the room that was going at any sort of speed.

A bead of sweat trickled down his forehead, the sensation rather ticklish but he made no move to wipe it away. Voldemort was still falling; he was barely half way as his body arched backwards. In fact, Harry could see that his feet were still firmly on the floor but he knew he was already dead. That was the thing with Killing Curse, it killed as soon as it hit you, meaning you were dead long before you actually hit the ground.

Unless your mother had died to save you and your name was Harry Potter, this was always the case.

He was just aware of the fact that the dawning sun was beginning to dazzle his eyes but all his attention was on the falling man...if he could still be called that. A being that had spilt himself into seven pieces, one of which had resided in Harry for almost seventeen years, was not your average human. It was still hard to believe that he had shared his body with a part of Voldemort's soul, especially when he'd seen what sharing Voldemort's soul could do to you.

Harry noticed rather tiredly that Voldemort's mouth was open in shock, his slit like red eyes widened in eternal dismay at his own demise. Everything was still slow and yet Harry found that he was able to tear his eyes away from the falling man and sweep his gaze over the gathered crowd. Many faces he did not know or only just recognised as fellow Hogwart's students but he still knew some of them.

There was Mrs Weasley, her face tear streaked but still standing with grim triumph over the body of her fallen foe, Bellatrix Lestrange. Near her was Ginny, her face set in harsh stone as she willed Harry to finish off the one who had hurt her so much. Brave, brave Neville, who had defied all expectations to become a hero and a defender of Hogwarts, was standing there with the darkly stained sword of Gryffindor. Professor McGonagall with her hair escaping her normally tight bun, wand held loose in one hand and the other hand clutching her heart.

These were the ones who caught his attention the most but there were of course many others. It stung as he realised that there was one member of the Weasley family who was not standing here watching with bated breath. Fred Weasley would forever remain young and laughing while his twin moved on through life without him. And he wasn't the only one who would never see the end of this War...Colin...Remus...Tonks, they would never have the chance to celebrate. Along with others like Mad Eye, Dobby, Scrimgeour, hell, even Snape. All had died to ensure that he and the others could keep on fighting and ultimately win.

Why did the cost of war have to be so high? Why had so many good people and other beings died because of one maniac's desire to destroy the world they lived in? As Voldemort fell, Harry knew deep down that it was pointless to berate himself about it, that there was nothing he could have done. But it didn't stop him wishing things could have been different, that he could have prevented all the death right down to Cedric.

As his eyes found Ron and Hermione's, he knew they felt the same way. There was a shadow across their faces, one that spoke of the feeling of relief that it was over but also the overwhelming grief of the terrible journey to reach that stage. There was also regret; they too dearly wished they could have changed things.

Harry slowly closed his eyes, he wished with all his heart that thing could have been different.

"_I wish...I wish...I wish..."_

Three voices echoed in the still chamber, their hearts filled with a desperate longing. A longing they were sure could not be satisfied but wishing it could be. Little did they know that their wish, magnified by three times, had actually been heard. How could this have happened?

Well, Harry was the possessor of the Deathly Hallows and a true master of death. If anyone could defy fate, it was him along with his two loyal friends who had been with him from the start. He had been the owner of three of the most powerful artefacts in the world and yet he had only used them to aid his struggle against a monster. If anyone deserved a chance to put things truly right, it was him but he couldn't do it alone.

For too long, the weight of the world had rested on Harry's shoulders and it wasn't fair for this to continue so. The Boy-Who-Lived would be granted his wish and since his Cloak of Invisibility had always been the most prized, its symbol of a triangle would create the bond of three. Seven was a powerful magical number but after all, three's the charm.

Everything was still in slow motion for Harry but as his heart continued to pound with hopeless longing, the sun steadily got brighter and brighter until the whole room disappeared in a flash of light. And with it, time changed completely.

Harry's POV

_**Boom!**_

Harry sat up with a start, staring in shock at the old shack door as it shook ominously. An overwhelming feeling of déjà vu washed over him as he remembered the last time he'd seen this. But...surely this wouldn't be, this couldn't be Hagrid coming to tell him he was a wizard? After all, that had been almost eight years ago, he knew fine who he was.

But his body was not as it should be, it was small and extremely skinny, clad in raggedy cast offs. Where was the muscular but heavily scarred body he had grown accustomed to? He glanced over at the sofa where his cousin sat, a lot shorter from when he'd last seen him but also a lot fatter. Gone was the boxer's brawn that Dudley had actually managed to build up, he was as obese and unhealthy as he had been in his youth.

Harry couldn't move, his brain could not fully comprehend what was going on. Mere moments before, he'd been standing watching as Voldemort fell dead on the floor and yet now...now he appeared to be back in the sea shack where he'd learned he was a wizard. It was like his seven years at Hogwarts had never happened and yet he could remember everything vividly. For instance, in a moment Uncle Vernon would come charging in with a rifle followed by Aunt Petunia...

_**Boom!**_

As another deafening knock was heard, Uncle Vernon suddenly came charging into the living room of the shack, followed closely by Aunt Petunia.

"Who's there?" Uncle Vernon attempted to call out in a challenging and menacing voice. "I warn you, I'm armed."

Harry shook his head, this was so damned familiar and he knew exactly what was going to happen next, a pause and then Hagrid would knock the door down. His relatives would scream and the half giant would ask for a cup of tea. And that of course, had only been the beginning of Harry's weirdest but most exciting birthday.

"Wow, I'm eleven," Harry mumbled distractedly to himself as there was a pause from outside and then the biggest bang of the night so far.

_**BANG!**_

The entire shack shook with the force of the blow and the door caved in, slamming to the floor with a painful bang. Harry winced at the noise, but it wasn't as bad as last time. Since he knew what to expect, his heart wasn't racing as fast as it should have been. In fact, a hopeful feeling was started to well up inside him, he was about to see Hagrid.

Sure enough, the entire doorframe was suddenly filled by a very large mass, completely blocking out the raging storm outside. A moment later and to Harry's intense relief, the gamekeeper of Hogwart's stepped in, dressed in his familiar shaggy overcoat with his jet black, wild beard all over the place. The Dursleys were screaming but Harry paid them no mind, he was too busy grinning as Hagrid casually said.

"Couldn't make us a cup of tea, could ya? Not been an easy journey."

Pausing only to lift the door up with one hand and put it back in place, Hagrid stomped over to the sofa where Dudley was staring aghast. Harry had to struggle to hold back laughter as Hagrid went.

"Move over, yer great pudding."

Dudley yelped as though he'd been stung by an invisible bee and bounced over to his parents. Well, Harry had no other way to describe just how Dudley's jelly like mass managed to move so fast. Harry looked back at Hagrid and saw that he was smiling gently, obviously very pleased to see him.

For his part, Harry was very pleased to see Hagrid and decided to focus on the moment rather than the consuming confusion he felt. He'd deal with that later, once he had a moment to himself to think things through. Briefly, Ron and Hermione faces flared up inside him but he also pushed them aside. He was in an eleven year old's body without a wand, there was currently nothing he could do to find them. At least at the present, he would work out what to do later.

"And here's Harry," Hagrid was now saying as Harry registered that he was considerably less concerned about his friends than he should be. It was as though something was dampening down his worry for them, allowing him to deal with the current situation. Pretty weird but he was definitely going with it.

"H-hello?" he managed to croak, struggling to sound curious about the _stranger_ in front of him.

Hagrid chuckled and quickly said.

"Sorry, almost forgot you won't know me. Name's Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of keys and grounds of Hogwarts and a friend of yer parents."

"You were a friend of my parents?" Harry repeated, doing his best to inject eagerness into his tone.

"That's right," Hagrid said proudly. "Ya look just like yer dad but yer got yer mum's eyes."

"I do?" Harry said, cocking his head curiously. "I didn't know that."

"Ya don't know?" Hagrid repeated in complete astonishment, staring at Harry in disbelief. "But surely yer've seen their photos and the like?"

Harry glanced at the Dursleys who were huddled in a corner, particularly Aunt Petunia. She flinched slightly at the grief stricken accusation his look gave her.

"Never," was all he said as he looked back at Hagrid.

"Never!" Hagrid thundered, jumping to his feet, making the whole floor rumble. "You've never seen a photo of them."

"No," Harry confirmed in a soft voice. "All I know about them was that they were drunks who got killed in a car crash."

If Hagrid had a lot less hair, then his face would probably be a bright red colour of fury right about now. As it was, it was up to his flashing eyes to betray the emotion he was currently experiencing. However Harry wasn't scared as he knew perfectly well it wasn't directed at him and he also wasn't worried. Hagrid would never actually harm the Dursleys, he would only give them a good scare. After all they'd done to him, they thoroughly deserved it.

Besides, it would probably do Dudley some good, show him that it wasn't nice to intimidated by someone a lot bigger and stronger than you.

"A car crash?" Hagrid was now roaring. "A car crash kill Lily and James Potter. It's a scandal, an outrage?"

Uncle Vernon made a rather weak noise before managing to stutter.

"I-I demand that you leave...a-at once."

He tried aiming the rifle at Hagrid but the half giant simply grabbed it and tied a knot in it. It was like the rifle was nothing more than a child's straw, before tossing the knotted rifle into a corner of the shack, where it could do no harm. Uncle Vernon's eyes were popping, Aunt Petunia was as white as a sheet and Dudley was making whimpering noises.

Hagrid now spun around to look at Harry again, his eyes wide with sadness and pity.

"Do...do you know anything about Hogwart's Harry? About who yer are?"

Mentally, Harry smiled at this but managed to keep a straight face. Shaking his head slightly, he said.

"I'm...I'm just Harry sir."

"Call me Hagrid," Hagrid said distractedly, running a hand through his wild hair. "Oh blimey, I never thought I'd have to tell ya, but ya have ta know."

"Stop!" Uncle Vernon exclaimed as he saw where this was going. "I forbid you to tell this boy anything."

"Go boil ya head, ya great prune," Hagrid snapped, sounding very annoyed and Uncle Vernon shrunk back.

Looking Harry squarely in the eye, Hagrid said firmly.

"Harry...yer a wizard!"

There was silence as Harry took this in, remembering fondly the first time Hagrid had told him. He also remembered what he needed to say, for now he definitely had to pretend to be his eleven year old self. He wasn't entirely sure why this was but his guy feeling told him this was the right course of action to take.

"I-I'm a what?" he exclaimed, eyes wide.

"A wizard, Harry," Hagrid told him proudly, now smiling again. "And a thumping good one, once yer trained up a bit. You'll be going to Hogwart's school of Witchcraft and Wizardry with other kids just like you."

"Really?" Harry said in wonder as Uncle Vernon found his voice again.

"Oh no he won't. I refuse to pay for him to go to that freak school..."

"It's taken care of," Hagrid growled, giving Uncle Vernon a very dark look. "Yer don't have to pay a single Knut, ya just have to stand back and let him go."

"Knut?" Harry questioned, trying to keep track of what he shouldn't know.

"Eh...wizard money," Hagrid explained distractedly.

"Now listen here," he told the Dursley's sternly. "Ya knew this day was coming, ya've known since the day young Harry was left with ya. His name has been down for Hogwart's since the moment he was born and there's not a force on earth which can stop him from doing. And definitely not mumbling Muggles like you."

As Aunt Petunia scowled at this, Harry said dutifully.

"Muggles?"

"Non magic folk," Hagrid said kindly. "And these are the biggest bunch of Muggles I ever laid eyes on."

Harry couldn't help but agree with that. He knew there was a question he had to ask and it was better to get it over with quickly.

"Hagrid...if my parent's didn't die in a car crash, how did they die?"

The next ten minutes involved Hagrid explaining gently but thoroughly what had happened. Harry knew so much about it already, through Voldemort, he'd even witnessed it. Hagrid had to blow his nose several times, saying how devastated he'd been when the two Potters had died. Harry glanced at the Dursleys a couple of times and saw how wide Dudley's eyes were, he was shocked at how his aunt and uncle had died.

"_Maybe there's a bit of hope for you, Dud,"_ he thought to himself as he concentrated on Hagrid again.

"And that's why...you're the Boy-Who-Lived," Hagrid finished gravely.

Harry frowned, as though trying to understand everything he'd just been told.

"Is Voldemort really dead?" he finally asked.

"No one knows, although most people think he is," Hagrid said darkly. "But Dumbledore thinks he's still out there someone, just biding his time. And I believe him, he's too dark a creature to be killed like that."

"_Now that was definitely true,"_ thought Harry.

"But you don't have to worry about him, Harry," the Hogwart's gamekeeper quickly said. "You'll be safe at Hogwarts, it's got Dumbledore there. He's the greatest headmaster that Hogwards has ever seen, he's the only one You-Know-Who was ever afraid of."

Harry allowed himself a small smile at that, that was also true.

"He'll not be going," Uncle Vernon, once again tried. He hadn't travelled all over the county to escape the letters just for this giant of a man to take the boy away.

"Oh and I suppose a great Muggle like yerself is going to stop him?" Hagrid stated very sarcastically. "Dumbledore sent me to get him and that's just what I'm going to do..."

"I'm not letting some crackpot old fool teach him magic tricks," Uncle Vernon bellowed as Harry sighed.

"_Shouldn't have said that, Uncle," _he thought as Hagrid suddenly brandished a bright pink umbrella and roared.

"NEVER...INSULT...ALSUS...DUMBLEDORE...IN...FRONT...OF...ME!"

There was a bright flash and Dudley _and_ Uncle Vernon squealed with pain and shock as a pig's tail appeared on their rears. Aunt Petunia shrieked and all three Dursleys charged through to the next room, slamming the door shut behind him. Harry blinked; Uncle Vernon hadn't gotten a tail last time. It seemed that even a small change in the way he acted could change other things.

He felt a tiny pang of sympathy for Dudley but knew it hadn't caused lasting damage. He wasn't even sure if it had taught Dudley anything except a fear of adult wizards. Well, he'd think about it later, there was more pressing thing to be doing now.

"Ah...shouldn't have lost ma temper," Hagrid said a little sheepishly. "Actually meant to turn them into pigs but doesn't look like there was much to change."

He looked at Harry and mumbled.

"Err...be grateful if you didn't mention this to anyone at Hogwart, technically speaking not supposed to do magic. Was allowed while I was delivering yer letters, but..."

"Of course I won't," Harry promised as Hagrid trailed off. He decided not to ask why Hagrid couldn't, he save that for another time.

"Anyway," Hagrid said, clapping his hands together. "Why don't I get a fire going and we can have a bit of supper? And you can finally get to read your letter."

"Sounds great," Harry said with a wide smile as Hagrid took off his coat and partially draped it over the sofa. He directed Harry to have a seat while he got started with things and Harry gladly did so.

Harry watched as Hagrid lit a fire and started pulling things from the many pockets of his coat, including sausages; a kettle, mugs, toasting forks and a box he suspected contained his birthday cake. He grinned, Hagrid had given him his first ever birthday cake...that he could remember anyway. Harry wasn't sure if Hagrid had actually baked the cake himself but from what he remembered, Hagrid might at least have helped ice it.

While Hagrid started cooking the sausages, Harry carefully opened his letter and read it, even though he knew what it said. But seeing those familiar words with the familiar signature at the bottom gave him a lot of comfort. He would ensure this letter was put somewhere safe so that he could always treasure it. The first one had become lost in the seven years he attended Hogwarts, he wasn't going to lose this one.

"Here we go," Hagrid said at last, placing the cooked sausages in thick, homemade buttered bread. "And I've also got a little something for after."

Again, Harry grinned as he was handed the boy and opened it to reveal a delicious smelling iced birthday cake. It was pink with green letters spelling out his name and Harry knew that inside was chocolate sponge and strawberry jam. He warmly thanked Hagrid who waved it away with a smile, handing Harry his dinner.

Thinking about how his stomach only contained a banana and stale packet of crisps, Harry enjoyed the meal immensely. As he helped himself to some cake, Hagrid said.

"We'll go and get all yer things tomorrow, at Diagon Alley. I'll just send a letter to Dumbledore and we'll settle down for the night. You can kip under me coat; it'll keep ya nice and warm. Don't worry is it wriggles, that's just a couple of dormice."

As Hagrid turned to write his letter, Harry shook his head, that was so like Hagrid. As he settled down in the folds of the massive coat, his thoughts turned to his friends. Had they also gone back in time like he had? He dearly hoped so as he doubted he could do this alone...whatever he'd gone back in time to do. Once he had Hedwig again, he was looking forward to that a lot, he would send them both letters and see how they responded.

In the meantime, if they had gone back in time, what was happening to them right now...

_Author's note. The next chapter contains at least Ron's POV, possibly Hermione's and we see how their coping with the time travel. I hope I've captured Harry okay, it will be explained why he isn't freaking out more later on in the story. Also hope his sympathy towards Dudley isn't too ooc. I just thought that after the monsters he's faced, Harry might be more willing to try to establish a relationship with his cousin, especially as he knows Dudley is capable of change. See how it goes anyway._


	2. Chapter 2

_Author's note. Glad this story has been received so well and thanks to all the reviews I've gotten. There is a warning for swearing in this chapter, as it is Ron._

_Suggestions are welcome._

_Enjoy and please review._

Ron's POV

Ron came awake with an unpleasant start, his heart pounding madly as sweat poured off his body. For a few minutes, it was all he could do to bring his frantic breathing under control but it wasn't easy. All he could do was gasp and desperately try to gulp in air as his chest squeezed tightly and his heart gave alarming flutters. He grasped his bedcovers and gritted his teeth, trying to force his body into a calm state.

"You're alive...you're bloody alive...get a grip,"

His treacherous heart refused to comply at first and he had no idea how long spent bent over, but eventually, it did slow down a bit. His breathing was still rather ragged, it felt like he'd just outrun a hundred Death Eaters, baying for his blood. Ron panted, causally glancing around before jolting in shock.

Not only was he back in his bedroom at the Burrow but he appeared...to be eleven again. He opened and closed his mouth several times, wondering if this was some sort of weird dream. But it felt too real to be a dream, especially when he rapped his knuckles on his old, squeaky headboard. He really seemed to be here in his eleven year old body, back home in the Burrow.

_...HOW THE HELL HAD THAT HAPPENED!_

One moment, he was watching Harry finally defeat that bastard and the next thing he knew, he was here, waking up in bed. It didn't make sense and he wasn't ashamed to admit he was scared. It couldn't have been a dream, he could not have just dreamt the last seven years, it just wasn't possible. Although technically _this _shouldn't be possible either...

"Bloody hell," Ron grumbled, sinking back against his pillow.

What the hell was he supposed to do now, Harry and Hermione weren't here and he didn't even know what the date was here. It was probably summer due to how warm it felt but apart from that, he hadn't a clue. He'd have to check the calendar downstairs or something, see how long until September the first.

Ron glanced out his window but it didn't offer any clues as to the time. It was dark so it must be at least midnight or later but it certainly wasn't close to dawn. Well, Harry and Hermione, whether they'd gone back in time or not, would probably be asleep at the moment. Or maybe like him, panicking about the situation they'd found themselves in.

Of course they probably wouldn't be panicking as much as he was, they never did. Hermione would grab a few books to research this strange occurrence while Harry would be coming up with some sort of plan. He was just left to scrabble madly about, like a fish out of water. Could he maybe use Errol to contact the others, surely they would have gone back in time with him?

"Bloody hell," Ron muttered again, he felt so helpless here. Sometimes he felt like such a joke...

Wait...joke...twins..._Fred!_

"F-Fred?" Ron whimpered hoarsely, remembering his brother's cold body, a ghost of a laugh still tracing his features. Of George who looked like someone had stabbed him right through the heart as he'd knelt by his twin's head while their mum had sobbed her heart out over Fred. He barely knew what the others expressions of grief were, just that they had all been suffering.

But...if he was back in time, then...Fred was still alive!

Without another thought, Ron threw back the covers of his bed and leapt out of it and across the room. He was loud enough to wake Scabbers the rat who blinked curiously at his new master's hasty departure but Ron was too caught up with emotion to even notice. The red head flung open his door and pounded down the stairs, not caring who he woke up.

With a clatter, he arrived at the landing to Fred and George's room and flung the door open, ignoring the sounds of people waking up and flinging himself inside. For a moment, he paused; the twins had a habit of switching beds, just to annoy their mum in the morning. But he only did this for a moment because as soon as his eyes took in the fact that_ both_ beds were occupied by two identical lumps.

"FRED!" Ron howled, charging forward and leaping into Fred's bed and hugging the lump as tightly as possible.

He had to hear a heartbeat; he wouldn't accept Fred being alive unless he felt a heartbeat.

"Mehhrrr?" the lump grumbled in protest as it realised something was hugging it tightly but Ron didn't stop what he was doing.

Distantly, he could hear the sounds of people getting up and exclaiming grumpily but he ignored them. The cover shifted as the lump struggled to wake and move, and this meant that Ron now came into contact with the pyjama covered chest. He eagerly buried his face against it, inhaling the warmth the body gave. He pressed the side of his ear firmly on the chest and felt his heart jolt as he detected a heartbeat.

"Fred...," he whimpered, as he continued hugging his rapidly waking up brother, tears leaking from his eyes.

"What the hell...Ron?" came George's very confused and groggy voice.

"Ron?" came..._Fred's_ voice as the boy struggled to sit up but it wasn't easy, Ron was big for an eleven year old. "What are you doing?"

"You're alive...you're alive," Ron gasped before bursting into tears, and burying his face against Fred's body, crying his heard out.

"Bloody Merlin," Fred swore before saying. "Get mum and dad George, he's gone crazy."

"Yeah," George said, although he sounded a lot more worried. George had always been the more sensitive twin; you could see he was the 'good' one. Well, if you had to label one as the evil one, that would be Fred but it wasn't all that obvious unless you really knew them. Ron had sometimes joked about that with Ginny when they were younger, as Fred tended to do the slightly nastier jokes but he didn't care about that now.

All he cared about was holding his big brother and never letting go.

He barely heard George leave the room to fetch their parents; he was too busy sobbing in relief. Fred was alive, he was actually alive, they were all alive and he was never going to let anything happen to them ever again. Whatever it took, they would all remain safe and whole.

"George, what is going on, who is making all that noise? If you two have been up to something..."

"It's not us, it's Ron," came Goerge's slightly offended but still worried voice. "He just came into our bedroom crying..."

"Crying?" came his dad's voice and a moment later, the two Weasley parents came hurrying in, along with George.

"Ron!" his mum exclaimed in shock as she saw the state her youngest son was in. "Ron, what's happened?"

"He's gone barmy," Fred mumbled, completely unsure what to do.

"Fred," Ron heard his dad say sternly as they approached the bed.

"Ronnie, what's wrong," his mum cooed as she gently placed a hand on Ron's back. "What's upsetting you?"

Ron however found he couldn't answer; he was just too overwhelmed with what had happened. Less than an hour or so ago, he'd been fighting for his life, he'd thought his best friend had been killed and...he'd stood over Fred's cold body. And now he was bloody back in time and didn't even know if his friends were too.

"Ron?" his dad asked a little more softly. "Son, can you tell us what's wrong?"

Ron shook his head wildly, he couldn't move from his position against Fred's chest. His mum was gently rubbing his back, trying to calm him down. George walked over so that he was sitting beside his brother who was still struggling to sit up properly. His dad also came closely so that he too could stroke his youngest son's back.

"Did you have a nightmare?" Molly asked her son, not able to think of another reason why he might have reacted in this way.

Ron paused and then nodded shortly; it certainly had been a nightmare.

"Oh Ron," Molly said soothingly. "You know dreams are nothing to get upset about, they're not real."

"It felt real," Ron somehow managed to choke out.

"Can you tell us what happened?" Arthur suggested just as a new Weasley came stomping into the room.

"What is going on?" Percy Weasley demanded pompously. "Some of us are trying to sleep."

"We're having a midnight party, Perce," Fred said sarcastically. "Ron had a nightmare or something."

"Yes and we're trying to comfort him," Molly said rather pointedly and Percy stood there rather awkwardly.

"Ah...what was it about?" he finally asked.

"Fred dying," Ron choked out and nearly everyone gasped and he felt Fred stiffen briefly before relaxing.

"So...what did I die of?" Fred now asked cheerfully. "For being too awesome?"

"Nah, that would be me," George interjected. "You probably saw your own reflection."

"Boys," Molly said sharply. "Don't make fun of your brother, this is serious."

"Ron," Arthur said very gently. "Why don't we call go downstairs and have some hot chocolate? You can tell us all about your dream then."

"Okay," Ron said, still rather choked out but a tiny bit calmer.

"You can let go now," Fred said, although he didn't say it as sarcastically as normally.

Ron very slowly peeled himself off his brother and Molly took him in her arms. He heard a whispered incantation and suddenly he was a lot lighter than before, meaning she could lift him up onto her hip and carry him away. As they all slowly exited the room, Ron laying his head on her shoulder, Ginny appeared.

"What's happening?" she asked, yawning very widely, her feet peeking from under her long nightdress.

"Ron had a nightmare," Percy informed her and she stared wide eyed at her brother.

Normally, Ron would have felt beyond embarrassed by his emotions were in too much of an upheaval to really care. They all trooped down to the kitchen were Arthur sat down on the sofa where Molly deposited Ron before hurrying to prepare hot chocolate for everyone. All the other Weasley kids all found places to sit, staring very intently at Ron.

Ron felt his ears go a bit red but was more focused on being hugged by his dad. Soon, the smell of cooking milk and melting chocolate could be smelt wafting through the kitchen, managing to relax everyone.

"Now, what was your nightmare all about?" Arthur asked gently, wanting to get things going.

"About the future," Ron mumbled, knowing this was going to sound really stupid. "When I'm of age."

"Scary thought, that," Fred said under his breath.

"So you dreamed about being older?" Arthur said and Ron nodded.

"Yeah and I was at Hogwarts, there was a massive battle between us and Voldemort..."

Ron only realised what he'd said when everyone flinched and Ginny actually gave a squeak of terror. He could barely believe what he'd said, after all he'd told Harry and Hermione. But somehow, he wasn't scared of saying the name anymore.

"Ron," Molly scolded, almost upsetting her pan of milk. "Don't say that name."

"Sorry," Ron mumbled, feeling a bit calmer. "Anyway, we were all fighting...and Percy had just hit the Minister with a jinx."

"Percy jinked someone?" both twins exclaimed in complete shock. "You're kidding."

Ginny's mouth was open and Percy looked very shocked and rather ruffled at this. Ron smiled slightly and said.

"It's okay, it was a Death Eater called Thicknesse, he'd helped kill the last Minister."

"Well um," Arthur said with a blink. "That sounds very courageous of Percy."

"Yeah and he told a joke," Ron added, which seemed to shock everyone more than the fact the third eldest Weasley child had jinxed someone.

"He told a joke?" Fred exclaimed in disbelief. "Now that I can't believe."

He paused and then asked with a grin.

"Did I die of shock?"

"No," Ron said, suddenly serious again. "Percy...he said...right after jinxing Thicknesse...'Did I tell you Minister, I'm resigning?' You found that really funny, Fred."

"I can see why," George said with a grin. "That's some delivery Percy, who knew you had it in you."

Percy didn't seem to know what to say so he stayed silent.

"You...you said," Ron choked out. "That you couldn't believe Percy had told a joke that you couldn't remember the last time he'd told one."

"Then what?" Fred asked quite cheerfully as Molly started putting the finishing touches to her hot chocolate.

"You died," Ron said flatly and everything went still.

Molly stopped stirring, Ginny stopped fidgeting, Percy almost fell off the chair arm rest he'd been sitting on and the twins flinched. Arthur had stiffened but then relaxed, hugging Ron tighter than ever as the tears started to flow down Ron's face.

"It was an explosion...no one else was hurt...you didn't even look hurt but you wouldn't get up. G-George wasn't there."

"Where was I?" George asked softly.

"Fighting somewhere else," Ron said, eye red from crying. "I...I'll never forget the look on your face...when you saw..."

George's face had gone white; he was obviously picturing this very scenario. The silence was of course, broken by Fred.

"Hey, it was only a dream Ron, it wasn't real. I'm here, I'm alright."

"It felt real," Ron repeated from earlier. "You were so cold...I couldn't feel a heartbeat."

"Ah," Fred said awkwardly as Molly came rushing over with hot chocolate. "Yeah...that explains the...yeah..."

"Ronnie," Molly cooed, depositing herself on the sofa as mugs floated to everyone. "I know it was a scary nightmare but everything's okay now. When you go to Hogwarts, you'll be perfectly safe; there won't be any battle there. And certainly not one involving You-Know-who."

"_No,"_ Ron thought mentally as he hugged her back. _"There bloody won't be. Not if I have anything to say about it."_

_Author's note. Hope that was okay for Ron, I figured being transported back into your eleven year old body and finding out your dead brother is still alive would leave you pretty emotional as well. Next, we have Hermione's POV and probably back to Harry as well._


	3. Chapter 3

_Author's note. Should Harry try to save Quirrel? Remember, he and the gang are trying to stay undercover as it were, so they can't just randomly accuse people left right and centre. Anything they do has to fit their eleven year old forms so no magic that's way beyond their years. Just would like some input on how far Harry should take his 'saving people' thing, considering he's got the chance to save a lot of people._

_By the way, 'The Secret Island' by Enid Blyton happens to be one of my childhood favourites and I would recommend it. _

_Enjoy and please review._

When Hermione opened her eyes, she knew something was different. Maybe it was because her body no longer ached and she felt warm and secure. Or perhaps it was because there were no longer screams of terror or cries of pain. She sat up slowly, staring around the neat room which was filled with loads of books on all the shelves and cases. The walls were painted a gentle light blue colour and by her window was a desk and chair.

A couple of china dolls lined the top of a chest of drawers along with some family photos. Her window was slightly open letting in a cool breeze and the sky still looked dark but more of a blue navy than black colour. She slowly woke her, for once, her mind was a total blank and she had nothing to say. The situation was just so...bizarre that Hermione just couldn't react.

She glanced to her bedside cabinet and saw the little glass ball that Professor McGonagall had left after her visit to inform Hermione's parents that their daughter was a witch. She reached forward and touched it, murmuring a word which made the ball suddenly rise up into the air, glowing. As she watched, it shifted shape, turning into a glass bird which began to flap around the room. It was Professor's McGonagall's proof that magic was real and not some elaborate hoax. The orb was so that Hermione could assure herself of magic's existence until she went to Hogwarts. Apparently, even after being shown proof, some Muggleborns and their families still had an extremely hard time believing it.

Hermione remembered activating it every night before she went to sleep, just to prove that she really was a witch and that was perfectly normal. She'd almost forgotten about it, she always left it behind when she went to school so that her parents could always have proof their daughter wasn't going off to some brainwashing cult school. That she truly was going to learn magic because she was a witch and needed to learn how to control her magic.

She licked her lips and was mildly shocked to find she had her old buck teeth again, the ones that had gotten her so dreadfully teased in Primary School. She glanced at a little box which contained her braces, thankfully, not train track ones. She'd never enjoyed wearing them but they did keep her teeth in good condition. It had been a real relief to have her buck teeth shrunk down, especially as Ron seemed to have noticed her more.

Maybe she could get them shrunk down again...put if off to a bad hex or something...

"Oh...heh," she chuckled; sometimes it was strange to be so...rebellious.

She had been very much a teacher's pet in Primary School but since going to Hogwarts, she had definitely relaxed about rules. It wasn't that she didn't still care about them she did, but she could now understand which rules were good and which weren't. She also knew when you needed to break them and when to keep them.

She slowly pushed the covers back and got out of bed, noting sadly that Crookshanks didn't appear to rub against her bare legs. Although she was due to go to Diagon Alley in a couple of days, meaning she could easily buy her beautiful cat two years earlier. Her eyes widened as she realised just how calmly she was taking the fact she was eleven years old again, having been plucked from the Battle of Hogwarts, seven years in the future.

Hermione thought about the problem for a moment, why wasn't she going out of her mind with worry and panic? She was sure it hadn't been a dream, you couldn't dream seven years but something like this was meant to be impossible. But time travel its self wasn't impossible, she'd done it for a whole year. You just weren't supposed to be able to go back more than a day or so. Magic was clearly at work, mixed with time travel had sent her back, not in her adult body but back to her eleven, soon to turn twelve, body.

Now, if this was possible, surely it wouldn't be impossible for this same magic to work a sort of calming effect. At least she was safe here and if she actually was back in time, then everyone else should be safe and okay. All those who'd died, they were still alive and happy...well no, Dobby wouldn't be very happy. But he was destined to be freed and who knows...maybe they could get him freed earlier.

She was walking straight to where her calendar was, to check the date. It was the thirty first of July, as it was past Midnight. That meant Harry had just been collected by Hagrid, he'd told her and Ron all about how he'd discovered magic on his birthday. When morning came, he'd go to Diagon Alley and collect all his Hogwarts things. Ron would be back at the Burrow, safe with all his family, including...Fred.

Hermione bit back as soft whimper as she remembered the cold, still body of Fred Weasley. He had always taken great delight in teasing her and as annoying as he and George had been, she had been sure nothing would ever strike him down. And yet that was just what had happened, he'd been struck down in the prime of his life. And now, he was alive again and probably utterly unaware of the fact he'd died.

Because it somehow made sense that the entire world hadn't gone back in time but who had? There was no sound from her parents' room so they didn't seem to have been sent back in time. Of course, she'd need to check in the morning but somehow she didn't think so. But if anyone else had gone back like she had, then she was sure it would be Harry and Ron.

Sadly, she couldn't find out now but once Harry had Hedwig, he would surely send her with a letter. So, for maybe a day or two, she'd need to wait, no point in panicking until then.

"Curiouser and curiouser," she murmured, there were no other words to describe what was happening. Although it did briefly occur to her that 'curiouser' the famous Alice quote wasn't actually a real word, she didn't care.

She dearly hoped that Harry and Ron had gone back in time otherwise; she wasn't sure what she'd do. She couldn't bear to repeat all seven years without Harry and Ron knowing exactly what had happened. Frankly, dealing with immature boys had been difficult the first time without adding to the fact that she was an eighteen year old girl in an eleven year old's body. She and Ron had only just kissed, how could she go through another seven years waiting for him to figure it out again?

"No," she murmured to herself as she started pacing. "He has to remember, he has to."

Although, since they were in eleven year old bodies, it might make things a little awkward but at least they could talk about their feelings for each other now. And, maybe give another few years, start to kiss and hold hands...and a few years after that...take things further...

She swallowed; it really felt weird to be thinking about things like that in her current state. But after all, it wasn't impossible for people her age to do stuff like _that_, just not a really good idea. She had seen articles on kids getting married as soon as they reached puberty and in the early part of this century, Italy raised the legal age of girls getting married...to _twelve!_

Of course, she was thinking in very academic terms, she certainly wasn't thinking of _doing_ anything with Ron until they were both ready. At least until they were five years older...

"Oh, snap out of it," she told herself sternly, now was hardly the time to be thinking about stuff like that.

She glanced back at her bed and sighed, she really didn't feel like sleeping now. The best thing to do would be to read and see if that made her sleepy enough to go back to bed properly. Switching on her bedside lamp, she went over to a shelf and started examining the different titles. Sadly, she didn't have any texts on magic but that would be remedied soon enough.

There were certainly plenty she hadn't read in years, she'd pick a few she know she liked and go back to bed with them. Her tastes had changed a lot over the years but that didn't mean she couldn't enjoy a few childhood favourites. Let's see...she'd always liked Enid Blyton as a young girl and now she'd gone on her own adventures with some friends. A lot of them a hundred times the danger those fictional children had had to face but she could still relate to them a bit.

"Hmm, what about this one?" she said softly to herself, picking out 'The secret island'.

It was about four children who decided to run away from home because of unkind relatives and go live on an island, somehow successfully supporting themselves. Hermione was reminded of the past year, when she'd been camping with her friends and on the run. All the children had to worry about was being sent back to their cruel relatives or possibly a care home, they'd had to worry about being killed. But still, she'd enjoyed it when she was young and in the safety of her own bed, she could enjoy it again.

"Now let's see," she said as she settled herself in bed and opened the dog eared book.

"_Mike, Peggy and Nora were sitting in the fields, talking together. They were very unhappy...,"_

Harry's POV

This time when Harry woke, he was perfectly calm and feeling quite happy. Unlike last time, seven or so years ago, when he'd thought it was just a dream, he knew this was reality. Rolling slightly in the massive coat turned sleeping bag, he saw that Hagrid appeared to still be sleeping. He sighed and rolled onto his front.

Today was the day he first visited Diagon Alley, the day he first got his owl Hedwig, met a wizard his own age and...the first teacher which would try to hurt him. Harry frowned, trying to remember all the details of that doomed Professor. The first time they'd met, they'd shaken hands but Quirrel hadn't been burned. The last time they met, Quirrel tried to strangle him but thanks to his mum's protection, Quirrel had been burned.

From what Quirrel had said, Voldemort hadn't inhabited the back of his head back then, so he must have been some sort of spirit. It was only when Quirrel failed to get the Stone, that Voldemort had gone a step further in controlling his servant. This meant Quirrel hadn't been totally under Voldemort's control and had yet to commit any crimes.

Was it possible to save Quirrel? Did he deserve to be saved; he had knowingly let a troll in, one which could have killed. He'd also coldly tried to kill Harry several times and by the end of the year, had been a monster. But how much of that was due to Voldemort's influence? From the little Dumbledore had said about him, he'd sounded a bit like Percy, someone who loved studying and was more suited to a passive profession than fighting the Dark Arts.

Trouble was, when Harry met him, he wouldn't have a wand and Quirrel definitely would not have Voldemort on him. What was he meant to do, accuse the man in front of the whole pub? That would go down well...

No, fact was, he couldn't do anything today and by the time he got to Hogwarts, Quirrel would be sharing his soul with Voldemort. But even when he got his wand, what precisely could he do to Quirrel? He didn't know any spells to extract bits of soul from another person and frankly, the only thing he could think of was to actually _kill _Quirrel.

Something he did _not_ want to do. Because apart from anything else, Voldemort would still be out there and would probably latch on to someone else, thus solving nothing. At least with Quirrel, Harry and his friends would know where Voldemort was and could work out a plan. This actually made him think of Ron and Scabbers, he really hoped Ron could keep his head with the rat.

People might start asking questions about just how Ron knew he had an Animagus in his possession. One thing he knew for sure, he and his friends had to treat this path carefully, if too much was changed, things could spiral out of their control and more people could end up killed. He wanted Sirius freed a lot earlier than he had been but they needed to 'discover' Wormtail in a realistic fashion.

"Wish Hermione was here," Harry mumbled, he needed her knowledge and careful planning. As for Ron, his talent was spotting flaws in plans and working out strategy, he really needed both of his friends with him.

"Wonder when that owl's getting here?" Harry suddenly mused to himself with a slight smile.

It was still funny to think that_ owls _delivered mail and newspapers instead of having a postal service that involved people. The owls were very effective but Harry knew that Muggle post worked fine as well. This reminded him of how ignorant wizards were about Muggles and how Hermione had promised that she would drag Ron out into the Muggle world for a whole week to show him how things worked.

Ron had been horrified at the very idea but Harry knew there were plenty of things in the Muggle world Ron would love. The cinema for example, Ron would surely love that. And fairgrounds, if Ron didn't like them, Harry would eat his hat. Then there was all the greasy junk food that Dudley enjoyed indulging in, Ron would definitely adore that.

Harry himself wouldn't mind trying them properly; he'd only gotten a taste here and there. He doubted Hermione would enjoy him but he and Ron certainly would. They could stuff themselves and talk about Quidditch, a perfect combination. This really made the eleven going on eighteen year old smile; he would enjoy being just a normal kid with his friends and not worrying about someone trying to kill him.

Of course, they would need to deal with Voldemort but considering he had managed to destroy all his horcruxes and the man himself, Harry felt their chances were good. They had to change things but be careful not to change them too much or all their knowledge would be useless. Harry ruefully wondered if this was what it felt like to be Dumbledore, trying to carefully guide everything in order to defeat Voldemort. They would need Dumbledore as an ally, he was the leader of the Order of the Phoenix, they couldn't do everything on their own but Harry was wary about letting Dumbledore know their secret.

He knew all Dumbledore wanted was to keep them all safe, unite the wizarding world and defeat Voldemort and his followers. But as Dumbledore himself admitted, he was capable of making mistakes, and some of these mistakes had been massive ones. He probably needed to discuss this with Ron and Hermione but at the moment, he felt they shouldn't let Dumbledore know what had happened. Maybe in a few years but not right now.

_**Tap! Tap! Tap!**_

"There it is," Harry thought with a smile as the expected tapping began. "Hagrid?"

_Author's note. In the next chapter, Harry tackles Diagon Alley, what surprises await him? Find out next time, until then._


	4. Chapter 4

_Author's note. It should be noted I've tweaked what wizard kids wear a bit. I just felt that since most wizards seem to have absolutely no idea what Muggles wear, it make sense that their non robe clothes are not normal Muggle wear. One thing I always loved about the movies was the great costumes all the characters wore, as opposed to the exact same blank robes which were described in the books. _

_So, in this verse, if they're not wearing robes, their wearing tunic like outfits, hope everyone likes this new angle. Still be interested in people's opinions of Quirrel and if he should be saved, haven't made my mind up yet._

_Suggestions are welcome._

_Enjoy and please review._

Harry couldn't help smile as they approached the Leaky Cauldron, knowing he would soon be back in the wizarding world. They had made it off the rock and back to land safely enough, with Harry reminding Hagrid to send the boat back for the Dursleys. Considering how Uncle Vernon now had a pig's tail, Harry thought he could do at least one thing to cool his Uncle's temper.

The train journey had been uneventful, as far as Harry could remember, nothing had changed. The only thing Harry wasn't looking forward to was being mobbed by everyone in the pub again, he would never enjoy that. He wondered, could he say something to Hagrid?

"How will we get to Digaon Alley?" he asked Hagrid as they walked along the street.

"We go through the Leaky Cauldron of course, right famous place that," Hagrid said proudly, marching along with confidence.

"What is the Leaky Cauldron?" Harry asked curiously.

"It's a pub Harry, a wizard pub," Hagrid told him. "Get all sorts in there, like hags, ogres, the odd troll, everything."

"Will it be crowded?" Harry asked carefully.

"Should be, it normally is," Hagrid replied. "People will be right pleased tah see you back in the wizarding world again, Harry."

"They will?"

"Of course, yah saved us all Harry," Hagrid said very seriously. "People are right grateful for it, I can tell yah."

"Oh," Harry said softly, remembering how bewildered he'd felt at all the people wanting to meet him and shake his hand. "Um, w-what do you think will happen when we go in?"

"Well, people will probably want tah meet ya and stuff," Hagrid began before saying. "You okay with that?"

"Well...I'm not sure," Harry said a little anxiously. "I can still hardly believe that I'm supposed to be some sort of saviour, it's a bit much."

Hagrid nodded understandingly.

"Don't worry, we'll just go straight through tah Diagon Alley, no need tah fret."

"Thanks Hagrid," Harry said gratefully, grinning up at the giant of a man who smiled back.

They finally reached the rather dingy entrance and Hagrid pushed open the slightly stiff door. It was just how Harry remembered it, busy, noisy, and full of smoke and people. Harry stuck as close to Hagrid as he could, carefully flattening his fringe so that no one would recognise him.

"Ah Hagrid," greeted Tom the barkeep. "Usual I presume?"

"Can't Tom, on Hogwarts business for Professor Dumbledore," Hagrid said importantly as he strode across crowded bar, thankfully not mentioning Harry who followed closely.

"Another time then," Tom said cheerfully as he went back to wiping glasses.

No one seemed to notice them but just as they were leaving, Harry spied someone from under his fringe. Professor Quirrel was tucked away in a shadowy corner but Harry would recognise him anywhere. He appeared to be shrewdly watching Hagrid and barely paid attention to the small boy accompanying him. But of course, Harry suspected he had seen him and might even know who he was but it didn't matter. After all, they'd shaken hands the last time and it hadn't affected anything.

Quirrel hadn't actually made Harry a target until after Halloween when he'd been worried Harry might have spotted him. And since Harry and Ron wouldn't have to rescues Hermione from that troll this time, there wasn't any reason for the man to start trying to kill him. Although, anything could happen, things were already changing but Harry just wanted to take things as they came.

"Here we go," Hagrid now said as he took out his pink umbrella and started tapping certain bricks on the wall right in front of them.

There was a scraping and the bricks began to shift until an archway had been formed, revealing a packed street ahead. As Hagrid gently nudged Harry forward, who was pretending to stare in awe, he said.

"Welcome to Diagon Alley, Harry."

Even though he'd been here many times before, he was still overwhelmed by the sounds, smells and sights of the magical street. Almost everyone was attired in robes although Harry did spot what looked like Muggle parents with their magical children hurrying about. Owls hooted loudly, various instruments hissed and whirled, strong spicy smells wafted from a nearby shop and children howled with laughter.

"Whoa," Harry gasped, and he only half faked it.

"Come on, let's get going to Gringotts," Hagrid said jovially as Harry looked up at him.

"Gringotts?"

"Yeah, we gotta get you some money out," Hagrid explained as Harry said.

"But...but I don't have any money Hagrid. And you heard Uncle Vernon, the Dursleys won' pay for me to go to Hogwarts."

"Ah but your parents left yah plenty of money," Hagrid said knowingly. "It's in Gringotts, wizard bank. Ain't no place safer, cept perhaps Hogwarts."

"Oh," Harry said in bemusement, getting a little tired of having to pretend he didn't know all this but it was essential he do so.

They walked along the crowded street and Harry actually saw a few Hogwarts students from different Houses that he recognised. There was Oliver Wood, ogling the new Nimbus Two Thousand, Angus MacDonald from Ravenclaw who was in Fred and George's year, Britney Austen from Hufflepuff who was apparently one of the few people who'd managed to do a History NEWT although that wasn't for a few years yet. Harry smiled as he saw all of them and others he didn't know but knew they went to Hogwarts to. Just seeing everyone alive, whole and happy really made his day and he knew it could only get even better.

Walking along the street, he suddenly spotted a shop he hadn't been in much before. It was a sweet shop named Caramella Confectionery. He cocked his head, as far as he remembered it was full of delicious chocolates and sweets and actually had a few more exotic ones since they were closer to the continent here. He wouldn't mind getting a few sweets for the long month until he went to Hogwarts, a little treat for after dinner.

Imagine if Dudley could see this shop, he'd go crazy with gluttony. It had always given Harry a feeling of deep satisfaction that he got to go to one of the best sweet shops in the country after Dudley had taunted him for so many years with sugary treats. But Harry wondered, could sweets possibly be something to break the ice between them. Dudley was scared of magic but that hadn't stopped him from consuming the twin's toffee, could he cope with magical sweets?

It was definitely a possibility and since Harry wanted to go in there, he might as well get some for his cousin and see how things went.

As they finally approached the marble building that was the wizard bank run by goblins, Harry ruefully remembered the last time he'd been here. He and his friends had not only broken into one of the most heavily guarded vaults there was but they'd also got clean away on the back of a dragon with their prize. Thank bloody Merlin that none of the goblins had gone back in time or he'd be in dead trouble. Although he wondered if Hermione was going to end up campaigning against keeping dragons down in the vaults, from what he'd seen, it was pretty cruel.

"Yep, that's a goblin," Hagrid muttered as the climbed past the smartly dressed goblin guards, Harry avoiding looking at any of them. He really couldn't look them in the eye, at this moment; he truly felt eleven years old.

"Clever as they come but...not the most friendly of beings...best stay close," Hagrid advised and Harry had every intention of doing just that.

Almost an hour later, they emerged with Harry carrying a weighty bag of money. Nothing had changed that he could note, Hagrid had handed over his key and asked to visit two vaults, Harry's and Nicolas Flamel's. Of course, Hagrid hadn't told him who the second vault belonged to; he'd just mumbled it was Hogwart's business. Harry had cheerfully acted curious about the whole experience as Hagrid had tried to keep from telling Harry what the package was.

"What about getting your uniform, Harry? Hagrid now asked. "Errm, would you mind if I went for a quick pick me up? Those carts always make me feel ill."

"That's fine, Hagrid," Harry said as he headed for Madam Malkins before realising with a jolt that this was when he first met Draco Malfoy. Well, at least he knew exactly what the other boy was talking about now, he wouldn't feel so stupid.

Although...would the boy be there, since they hadn't been held up in the Leaky Cauldron, it was possible Malfoy wasn't there yet. On the other hand, Malfoy had still been there when he'd left, he appeared to be getting a lot more robes than the required amount. Since Malfoy never ever wore anything resembling Muggle clothes, it wasn't really surprising. It had taken Harry some time to get used to the tunic like casual clothes wizards wore and he was sure Hermione felt the same way.

Ron and his siblings did wear some Muggles clothes, like jeans and jumpers but this was because they lived in a Muggle area. And their Muggle attire was very basic; they could never wear anything that required you to have matching top and bottoms. So when they weren't wearing their school robes, they wore light brown or green tunics which always featured highlights of their house colours.

There were summer tunics which were a lot shorter in the arm and leg and then the winter tunics, which were longer and thicker. The tunics sort of resembled long shirts which went below stomach and was tied with a cord around your waist. The trousers were somewhat baggy but could be bound at the ankles just above some boots. Girls could wear this as well but theirs had a more feminine look to them, including a back which was laced up. Actually, as the girls got older, their tunics developed more of a bodice with even more laces. Some girls liked to add ribbons and other accessories to their tunics. Girls also could wear dress with long sleeves and a divided skirt.

It had taken Harry a little bit of time to get used to this style but being surrounded by it helped a lot. Madam Malkin measured him for a basic school robe and with these measurements was able to put together his whole school wardrobe. They had been shrunk before being wrapped up, ready for Harry to unwrap and place in his trunk.

This was on his mind as he entered the shop, spotting that Malfoy was indeed in the back.

"Oh well," he murmured to himself before striding forward, vaguely wondering how this meeting would go.

To be continued.

_Author's note. How does Harry's meeting with Draco Malfoy go? What about the rest of his time in Diagon Alley? Can he get all that he wants? Find out next time, until then._


	5. Chapter 5

_Author's note. I would appreciate some feedback on where the trio should go at Hogwarts? I've always thought of them as Gryffindors and at heart that's what they'll always be but I'm wondering if maybe they should go to Slytherin. It's just they've got to use a lot of cunning and other Slytherins qualities to survive as 17/18 year olds in First year bodies. But on the other hand, all of them loved Gryffindor..._

_Should they go to their original House, another House...or a combination of both? There have been some fics where Harry was put in two Houses or all four and while I'm not very keen on reading this, it might fit this story. Please tell me what you think, thanks._

_Enjoy and please review._

"Hogwarts, dear?" Madam Malkin asked as he came in. "Just the basic set?"

"Yes please," Harry said with a polite smile as she directed him to a stool.

"Just hop on that dear, we've got another young man being fitted right now."

There he was, exactly as Harry remembered him. Almost white blond hair which would darken slightly as the years went on and was as always, slicked back neatly. His face was pointed with only a bit of baby fat and his eyes grey. He also had that air of confidence and superiority that had always annoyed Harry before but now, he found it didn't. Maybe because he felt about seven years older than this immature eleven year old boy.

"Hello," Draco Malfoy drawled as Harry stepped up onto the stool. "Hogwarts too?"

"Yes," Harry said simply as a practise robe was thrown over him and Madam Malkin started taking his measurements.

"My father's buying spell books and my mother is looking at wands," Draco said importantly, perhaps hoping Harry would be impressed. "And then I'm going to bully father into buying me a racing broom and smuggle it into Hogwarts somehow. It's a disgrace they don't allow First years on the House teams."

He now looked at Harry and asked.

"Do you play Quidditch?"

"I can't, I live in a Muggle area," Harry said as he saw Draco's disapproval suddenly rise.

"Oh, you're Muggleborn?" he said slowly but Harry shook his head.

"No, both my parents were magical."

"Oh right, I've heard some wizard families live in Muggle areas," Draco stated as though he couldn't imagine doing such a thing. "At least they are magical, do you know some students who come to Hogwarts never heard of it until they get their letter. I don't think they should really be allowed in, they just don't know our ways."

"You mean Muggleborns?" Harry asked and as Draco nodded, said coolly.

"My mother was a Muggleborn and she ended up being Prefect and Headgirl. And won awards for Charms."

"Oh," Draco said, apparently taken aback. "Well, I suppose sometimes they can do well but it's still disgraceful they don't know anything about Hogwarts before they go."

"Why?" Harry asked. "It's not as though those magical raised can even do magic before going to Hogwarts, that's just the same as Muggleborns. And from what I've heard, Muggleborns pick up wizard customs quick enough; it doesn't really make a difference in the long term if they were raised by Muggles."

"Do you really believe that?" Malfoy said with a sniff.

"I do," Harry said, trying not to smirk as a wicked idea occurred to him. "And I bet that in our year, we'll have a Muggleborn in the top three students."

"Oh you bet, do you?" Draco said with a sly smirk. "Why don't we make it one better, let's bet that the very top student in our year, boy or girl, will be Muggleborn."

Harry pretended to consider this for just a moment before saying.

"Okay, you're own."

"How much do you want to bet?" Draco asked with a grin.

"I've never bet before, how much is usual," Harry said, knowing this would please Draco.

"Let's say, ten Galleons and the loser admits he's wrong about Muggleborns," Draco stated with relish.

"Fair enough," Harry said, trying not to laugh. "But they have to do it seriously; you can't just say it without actually giving it some hard thought."

"Yes," Draco said slowly, no doubt delighted at the idea he could bring a fellow wizard round to his way of thinking. "That also sounds fair. So, you're game then?"

"I'm game," Harry said, holding out a hand for Draco to shake. "How long into term until we know."

"We'll give it until Halloween," Draco said generously. "Sometimes, it takes a while for the best to show themselves but by two months it should be clear."

"_Oh, it will be,"_ Harry thought to himself just as Hagrid appeared at the window, with two large ice creams.

"Goodness, who's that?" Draco exclaimed in surprise.

"That's Hagrid, gamekeeper at Hogwarts," Harry said quickly as he felt his waist being measured by a tape. "He's taking me round Diagon Alley."

"Why's he with you?" Draco asked with a raised eyebrow. "Where are your parents?"

"Their dead," Harry said shortly, remembering how unconcerned Draco had been last time.

Draco blinked in surprise before saying.

"That's a shame, sorry."

"_Well, that was better than last time,"_ Harry thought wryly as he shrugged.

Draco glanced back at Hagrid and opened his mouth, no doubt to say something scathing but Harry beat him to it.

"Any idea what House you'll be in?"

"Slytherin," Draco said promptly. "All our family have been in Slytherin."

"I thought no one knew where they got Sorted?" Harry questioned and Draco shrugged.

"Well, I suppose no one really knows where they'll go but imagine going into Hufflepuff."

"What's wrong with Hufflepuff?" Harry asked, thinking of Cedric.

"Well, all the useless students go there," Draco stated pompously, stroking the front of his robe as his hem was fixed. I mean, Slytherin stands for cunning, Ravenclaw for intelligence and Gryffindor for bravery. What does Hufflepuff stand for?"

"I heard its loyalty," Harry said softly just as Madam Malkin declared.

"That's you dear."

Harry jumped off the stool and allowed the robe to be pulled off as Madam Malkin wrote out a slip for him to come back later for his finished robes. As he headed for the door, Draco said.

"Well, I'll see you at Hogwarts...and don't forget to bring ten Galleons."

"Only if you bring yours," Harry retorted with a grin before heading out to join Hagrid.

"Making friends?" Hagrid asked as Harry exited the robe shop.

"Sort of, we'll see," was all Harry would say as Hagrid handed him his glistening ice cream, chocolate and raspberry with chopped nuts.

As Harry happily ate it, Hagrid had already finished his, he pondered over the bet he had made with Draco Malfoy. He knew it was a bit unfair considering he knew exactly who was the best in their year but losing ten Galleons wouldn't hurt the arrogant Pureblood. Plus, he might actually consider the fact that Muggleborns were just as good as any other kind of Blood.

It was worth a shot anyway, even if all it did was plant a little seed of doubt.

"Where are we going next Hagrid?" Harry asked as he licked one side of his ice cream to stop it dripping.

"Well, we need tah get all yer school things so why don' we start with parchment and quills," Hagrid suggested. "You'll need a lot of that for the coming year."

"Sounds great," Harry said with a smile, he was really enjoying himself now.

They bought lots of parchment and quills with loads of bottles of ink, including Harry's favourite red. He also treated himself to one that changed colour as you wrote, little bits of magic like this were still a lot of fun. He ruefully remembered the time he'd accidently used some to write a Potions's essay, having been half asleep when he did so. Needless to say, Snape had not been very amused and had loudly lectured them all about the _importance of concentrating on their school work instead of delirious daydreaming._

Looking back, Snape's word play was a lot funnier than it had been at the time. It made him ponder, how would he react to the man when he next saw him. Snape had been cruel and had regularly tormented him while nursing a deep loathing for his young student. But he'd also saved Harry's life on so many occasions and sworn to protect him and all the other students at Hogwarts, no matter what House they belonged to.

Harry sighed as they headed for Flourish and Blotts, he'd need to do some serious thinking on his Potion's teacher. At least he had a whole month to do that, there was no need to make a snap decision. He was grateful for the time and at least it would be something to do while he was forced to remain at Privet Drive. And he'd be able to contact Ron and Hermione to ask their opinion on the matter.

They had a general idea why Snape had been on their side but Harry hadn't had a chance to relay the whole story to them. How Snape had been friends with his mum since before coming to Hogwarts, how Snape's interest in the Dark Arts and the Marauders bullying had finally torn them apart. It pained him to think badly of James but he knew his father's love for his mum had spurred him to destroy any potential rivals for her affections. That was why Snape hated him; Harry was a constant reminder of who had won. Harry's face, so very much like James, had been a slap in the face to Severus Snape who couldn't love anyone else but Lily.

Harry felt a wave of pity for his teacher, after Lily's death, Snape had devoted his life to protecting her one and only child. Somehow, he'd find a way to repay his professor although he currently had no idea how. Quickly shaking himself free of these thoughts, he forced himself to concentrate as he and Hagrid entered the bookshop. Harry remembered ruefully that he'd only be able to buy the books on his school list because as a First year, that was all the magic he was meant to be able to do.

It was a real shame because he spotted several Defence books he'd loved and really wanted to get again. But he knew Hagrid wouldn't allow him to get them, if only to stop Harry from hurting himself and others with magic he shouldn't be able to handle yet. At least he could always take out books from the Hogwarts library and next year, would be able to buy more books that he wanted. Although knowing Hermione, she would probably find a way to get hold of some books which were meant to for older students.

This was able to tide him over as he bought the basic books, including _The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1), One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them _and several more. Harry knew all the books pretty well, not only had he read them during his lonely summer before going to Hogwarts, he'd also had to read them over the years. So, he felt confident he could grasp them pretty well this time round; maybe he'd even be able to answer more questions.

He smiled as it suddenly occurred to him that while Hermione would be top student, he and Ron were likely to be in the top five at least. They were Seventh years having to do First year all over again, even if they hid their abilities, some of it was bound to sink through. It would be a bit annoying having to dumb down some of their essays but at least they could aim for good marks while not going overboard. Well, they'd probably have to contain Hermione from overachieving; she wasn't very good at selling herself short.

"Come on, let's get yer Potion supplies," Hagrid announced as they exited the bookshop.

"Potions sound good," Harry said with a grin, carrying his new supplies which had been handily shrunk down for easily carrying.

"Ah, wouldn't no myself," Hagrid said with a chuckle. "Weren't much good when I was at school but I know yer mum was a dab hand at them."

"Really?" Harry said eagerly, it was nice hearing a bit more about her.

"Yep, she and the current Potions's teacher, Professor Snape were top of their class," Hagrid went on with a fond smile. "Lot of competition between but it's still one of the only times it was just friendly competition between Slytherin and Gryffindor."

"Why's that?" Harry asked, very interested. Hagrid had never mentioned anything between his mother and Snape before. Was it because of the awful rivalry between James and Snape, and Hagrid didn't want to dreg up the past? Snape had never mentioned Lily to Harry and had probably made it clear to everyone who'd known him in school not to mention her.

"Ah, Gryffindor and Slytherin are massive rivals, their always competing for the House and Quidditch Cup," Hagrid explained as they headed to the Apothecary. "When yah get to school, you'll see what I mean. But even the Head's of House are always trying to get one up on the other."

Harry grinned, that was certainly true. Professor's McGonagall and Snape had always been betting on the Quidditch matches and outrageously favouring their own students in the run up to these matches. Hexing, jinxing and intimidation had run riot as well, it was sometimes a miracle any of them made it to the Quiddtich Pitch.

"I'm sure I will," Harry murmured as they entered the Apothecary.

After buying a suitable First year potion's kit, Hagrid asked what Harry needed next.

"Just a wand, I think," Harry said, pretending to examine his list while really hoping Hagrid would say what he'd said last time.

"Ah, can't be without that," Hagrid said with a grin before saying the words Harry had wanted to hear. "And...blimey, haven't got yer a birthday present yet."

"Y-you don't have to," Harry said, his voice shaking because he was now very excited but of course, Hagrid mistook it for the original emotion.

"I know I don't but I wanna," Hagrid said firmly with a smile. "Know you wouldn't have gotten many decent presents from those Dursleys...tell yah what, I'll get you your familiar."

"Really?" Harry said, feeling more grateful than ever to Hagrid.

"Yep," Hagrid said before adding. "Tell you what, how about I get yah an owl. Their perfect for delivering messages and once you've finished this year, you'll want to keep in touch with friends. Toads are a bit old fashioned and cats make me sneeze so I think an owl's best. That okay with you, Harry?"

"That's great," Harry croaked, he was going to see his beloved Hedwig again.

"Come on then," Hagrid chuckled and they headed for Eeylops Owl Emporium.

Now Harry was almost trembling with excitement as they entered the incredibly dark shop, full of rustling feathers and large bright eyes. Harry squinted in the dim light; it was hard to see after the bright street. Before he could properly focus on anything, there was a sudden flap of wings, a rush of air and something landed right on his shoulder.

As he turned, he was met by bright yellow eyes surrounded by white and knew instantly who it was.

"Hedwig," he breathed as the snowy owl gave his ear a nibble, examined his hair before tucking her head under one wing.

"Are you alright?" the owner worriedly enquired as he came hurrying over.

"Fine," Harry said brightly as he stroked Hedwig's feathers. "She's beautiful."

"Eh, a real proud one that," the owner said, staring in disbelief at Harry and Hedwig. "But intelligent, she's one of my best. And she seems to have taken a real shine to you, young master."

"She sure has," Hagrid stated, sounding very impressed as he squeezed into the shop. "That's a good sign that, shows she'll be devoted to you."

"She's brilliant," Harry said honestly and in wonder. "I...can I have her?"

Chuckling, Hagrid said.

"I don't think this owl would allow it any other way."

Harry beamed as Hagrid and the owner started discussing prices, things were going so well. And somehow, he knew it was going to get better.

_Author's note. Harry finally finishes in Diagon Alley in the next chapter but what are the others up to? Find out next time, until then._


	6. Chapter 6

_Author's note. After much consideration, I've decided that the trio will go to Gryffindor after all. The main reason, as pointed out by some reviewers, is that if they go to another House, they could end up altering the timeline way too much. In order for them to change things, events have to come about as they would have before. If this doesn't happen, it'll be much harder for them to keep control of things and save more people. Plus, Gryffindor is their home at heart._

_But thanks a lot to those who gave good reasons for other Houses, they will be used when the trio discuss where they should go. And they will still be doing their best to bring about more House unity. _

_As to why Hedwig flew straight to Harry, I'll leave that to everyone's imagination. But let's just say, she's that awesome. _

_Enjoy and please review._

Harry could not stop grinning as he left the shop with Hedwig safely placed in her cage. He also had enough supplies to last him a month as well as a book on looking after owls. It was still hard to believe he had his beloved pet back but he certainly did and she looked great. He'd make sure no one harmed her this time and she would live a great, long life.

"We can go look at wands next Harry," Hagrid was now saying and as Harry nodded, a sudden though struck him.

Ron would be coming to school with his brother Charlie's old wand, one which had never worked very well for him. It had been one of the reason he hadn't done as well in his First and Second years, because that wand was old and hadn't chosen him. Of course, being broken hadn't helped either but Harry hoped they could avoid that this time round.

But how to get Ron a wand, he couldn't very well buy it himself for Ron. He and Ron weren't 'friends' yet so he could hardly send money without questions being raised. Ron would need a decent wand this time round but getting it could prove tricky. Somehow, he had to get money to Ron so that it could be spent on a wand.

Remembering how long it had taken to get a wand last time, he certainly had enough time to think up a solution. The shop's bell tinkled as they entered the gloomy establishment, Hagrid' bulk blocking the sunlight so that the place appeared even darker. Harry felt nervous, Ollivander had always creeped him out a bit, he just seemed a little too fascinated by Voldemort's power.

The weirdest thing about this was he had no intention of even joining a wizard like Voldemort voluntarily or even try to grab power for himself. He just seemed so...enthralled by the magic which could be wielded from a wand, no matter who was doing the wielding. Somehow, Harry doubted he'd ever really feel comfortable in the man's presence but at least he knew that the man would never actually side with any Dark Wizards.

"Good afternoon," came Mr Ollivander's voice and Harry looked up from his musing to see the wandmaker himself.

"I thought I might be seeing you today, Mr Potter," Ollivander stated before telling Harry about his parents wands and which subject those wands favoured. It was interesting hearing about his parents' wands again and Harry listened attentively until the old wizard pointed out his scar.

"Of course, I sold the wand that did it," Ollivander said quietly. "Well, if I'd known what that wand was going to do..."

Harry tried not to sigh, it had been this that had really creeped him out. Thankfully, Ollivander only said a couple more things about that wand before questioning Hagrid on his own. This made Harry wonder, when they proved Hagrid's innocence, would it be possible for him to legally carry a wand again?

Hagrid seemed to manage fine without one and only occasionally using his pink umbrella but surely by rights, he should have the option of a wand. Well, it was something else to discuss with his friends and maybe Hagrid once his innocence was proven.

"What is your wand hand?" Mr Ollivander suddenly asked.

"Uh...my right hand?" Harry tried and stood still as a tape measure started on him. He still didn't know what this had to do with getting a wand; after all, he wouldn't know which wand was suitable until he got on in his hand. Maybe it was a stalling tactic so that Ollivander could gleam more from his customer. Possibly something about their height and stature could help decide which wands to start with. For instance, Hagrid needed a pretty thick wand so being measured maybe did help.

Finally, Ollivander finished messing around with the tape and darted to his shelves of boxes. Eagerly, he yanked several down and placed them on the counter before selecting a dusty box. Carefully, he took a wand out and presented it to Harry who ruefully took it. This was definitely not his wand and he'd barely had a chance to wave it before it was yanked away.

As he tried wand after wand, he thought about Ron. How could his friend plausibly get his hands on some gold? He remembered that Ron had got his good wand after Mr Weasley won a competition before their Third year. Would something similar work? But how could he pass himself off as someone in charge of a competition, someone like Percy might question.

Harry continued wracking his brains as more and more wands piled up. And then suddenly, a brainwave hit him. Ron lived very near a Muggle village, what if he went in there one day and just off handily entered something. And then he received the prize money which conveniently happened to be enough for a wand. It would need to be Muggle money of course but Mr or Mrs Weasley could easily exchange it for Galleons.

So, that meant after he'd gotten his wand, he'd need to exchange some of his own Galleons into Muggle money. It actually would probably be a good idea to have some spare Muggle money, you never know what might happen.

"...yes, why not — unusual combination — holly and phoenix feather, eleven inches, nice and supple."

Harry suddenly paid attention as he realised that Olivander had finally came to his wand. Eagerly, he took it and breathed in relief as a familiar feeling of warmth shot up his arm. With a wave, he created a shower of gold and red sparks which appeared to sizzle and dazzle with excitement.

"Oh yes," Olivander exclaimed, clapping his hands in delight. "Yes, indeed, oh, very good. Well, well, well… how curious… how very curious…"

Harry sighed before asking.

"What's curious?"

Olivander duly told him and Harry had to force himself to act shocked and scared. But honestly, after the last year he really couldn't care less that his wand shared a core with Voldemort's. Still, he listened attentively to what the elderly man said before paying for his wand and leaving.

"Hagrid," he asked as the door shut behind them. "Can we go back to Gringotts? I want to get some Muggle money?"

"Muggle money?" Hagrid repeated with a furrowed brow.

"Just in case," Harry explained quickly. "And...maybe we could visit the sweet shop next?"

This made Hagrid crack a smile.

"Sure Harry, we can do that. And after, we'd better head to the train station, you've got a train to catch home."

"Thanks Hagrid," Harry said very gratefully.

They successfully managed to change some of his money into Muggle currency before heading back into the afternoon sun. They then headed to Caramella Confectionery so that Harry could stock up. He loved it, there was so much to chose from including Chocolate Frogs, Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans, Sugar Quills, Ice Mice, Fireballs and so many more. He bought as much as it could carry; he'd need a bit of sugar during this long summer.

"Think that'll do you, eh Harry?" Hagrid teased as they made their way out of Diagon Alley.

"I think so," Harry chuckled in response as they stepped out into the Muggle world.

Ron's POV

Ron stared out the window of his bedroom, gazing at the starry sky. Today had been a bit of a difficult day, not least because everyone was a little awkward after his _nightmare_. Considering the vivid detail he had given, it wasn't surprising that everyone was being careful with him. He'd had a lot of trouble getting back to sleep until his mother slipped him something in a drink.

He woke up very late and back in his bed with his father reading in a chair nearby. Ron didn't remember falling asleep and knew he'd been carried up to his room. For a moment, he just lay there as he allowed memories of Fred _alive _wash over him. Finally, he made his presence known to his dad who smiled and put his book down.

"How are you doing, Ron?"

"Fine," Ron said, pulling himself into a sitting position. "What time is it?"

"Nearly lunchtime," his dad said, quickly checking his watch. "You've slept the morning away, son."

Ron blinked, it was rare he ever did that. And he could feel the stirring of hunger start to gnaw at his insides although it would normally be a lot more obvious. He really had been badly affected by Fred's...well, rebirth. The boy rubbed his stomach for a moment before saying slowly.

"Anything good for lunch?"

"I believe your mother's doing macaroni and garlic bread," his dad said with a smile. "And she might even be adding a little crispy bacon."

Ron grinned; he loved having bacon with his cheese and macaroni. He knew his mum was probably adding it for his benefit and the thought made him smile even more. After nearly six months of scavenging for food he'd be glad to eat properly again. With a slight wince, he remembered how much he'd complained about the lack of food as Harry and Hermione suffered. Harry had often gone with barely any food and he'd moaned about missing a few meals.

He swore that this time round he'd do better, even if that meant learning to cook and survive in the wilderness. Frankly, it was probably a good idea anyway as you truly never knew when you might need those skills. If he and Harry really did become Aurors, it would probably help them track down Death Eaters.

"Sounds great," he now said to his dad who nodded.

"I'm looking forward to it, myself."

His dad then paused before asking.

"Are you feeling better Ron? I know it must have been horrible but you do know it was just a dream?"

"Yeah," Ron said quietly. "I just...it really got to me."

"I know and I understand," Arthur Weasley said seriously. "It's hard to lose your brother, it feels like a part of you has been ripped away."

Ron suddenly remembered that his dad had lost a brother, his namesake Billius. As for his mum, she'd lost her twin brothers Fabian and Gibeon. Unknowingly, they really did know what he had gone through. To his dad, he said.

"That's how it felt...in my dream."

The last part he added as an afterthought but his dad didn't notice.

Arthur nodded before saying.

"Just remember that your brother is alive and well, you'll soon forget about your dream."

"And it won't take long for Fred to take the mickey," Ron said with a long suffering sigh.

"Oh no, he won't," Arthur said firmly. "Your mother has made it very clear what will happen if they make fun of you but I don't think you will. You shocked even the twins by how much you care."

Ron flushed at this and fiddled with a tiny hole in his blanket. His father smiled and got to his feet, coming closer to the bed. Lightly laying a hand on Ron's back and rubbing it, he said.

"Why don't you get dressed Ron, then you can come down for lunch...or should I say brunch?"

This made Ron grin ever so slightly and he nodded. As long as his twin brothers didn't hassle him and Percy didn't lecture, then this should be a pretty good brunch.

And it had been a good one; the familiar home cooking had cheered him up no end. The twins had decided to pretend the whole incident hadn't happened and just laughed and joked as usual. They did keep sending him odd looks but seemed to think acting as normal was the best policy. Ginny was more affectionate than normal, she was determined to cheer him up. Percy kept making awkward conversation but he was making an effort to engage with him.

Afterwards, they'd spent a fairly normal day including playing Quiddtich, cleaning their rooms, de-gnoming the garden, racing over the meadow and various other things. Ron did his best to focus on enjoying himself and not about the dark seventh year he'd spent. But he couldn't stop himself from acting anxious, he was on fire to hear from Harry or Hermione.

Well, just Harry realistically as Hermione didn't have an Owl and he didn't have a telephone. He smiled, he'd finally learned how to say that word, Hermione nagging him about it did that. He dearly wished he could see her but wouldn't be able to do that for a whole month. Then again, they all needed a break, this year and the last had been so intense.

Once they all met up again, they'd be fresh and new, ready to take on the new school year.

"Just a month," Ron murmured to himself, ignoring Scabbers who was snoozing on a shelf.

He'd been avoiding the rat all day; he could barely look at him. Just the fact he had a mass murderer just a few feet away was mind boggling. And that wasn't even the weirdest thing that had ever happened to him. He had decided that it would be best to spend as little time with the rat as possible; it could just pretend he was bored with his hand-me-down pet that didn't do anything. It was doubtful this would worry Wormtail would worry as long as he was fed and watered, he would just carry on snoozing.

He stared out at the window again, the moon was full. Remus Lupin would be transformed and probably locked up somewhere. Ron hoped he was okay but knew the werewolf was living a hard life right now. Hopefully they could do something to help him, hopefully Lupin would know his son...

Ron groaned, there was a lot of pressure on them to ensure good people like Lupin didn't die. Where they up for it? He wasn't sure but knew they would give it their all anyway. Just as he was about to close the window against the chill wind blowing, he suddenly spied a white dot in the distance. As he watched, it grew bigger until Ron recognised the outline of an owl and by the looks of it, it was a white owl.

His heart gave a little jolt, was that Hedwig? But she was dead...idiot, she'll be alive in this time. But was it really her, had Harry managed to buy her and then send a letter to Ron? Well, he'd know soon enough, the owl was flying right for his bedroom.

Once she was close enough, Ron knew it was Hedwig and he joyfully called out her name.

"Hedwig."

Immediately, she swooped down and over to him as he opened the window wide enough so she could safely in. She fluttered around the room once, completely ignoring Scabbers who briefly twitched before relaxing as he saw she was just a post owl. She landed on an old clothes horse which was devoid of clothes and stuck out her leg. He dutifully took the offered letter with his name on it. He briefly noticed another letter but was more interested in his own.

He grinned as he opened the letter which was a lot thicker than it should be. To his surprise, as well as a letter, there was a wad of Muggle money. He stared at it for a moment before putting it aside and sitting back on his bed to read.

_Dear Ron._

_If you're reading this, then you've recognised Hedwig and she's delivered this letter to you. I wasn't sure if you or Hermione had gone back with me but I figured you had. There's another letter for Hermione and once Hedwig's had a rest, that's where she's going. While she's resting, if you want to send a letter to me or Hermione, you can do that._

Ron smiled; he definitely wanted to send a letter to both his friends.

_I wish I could see both of you but that obviously isn't possible. The Dursleys wouldn't be happy if I just disappeared and then came back, their unhappy enough as it is. Don't worry, nothing's happened, I just keep getting a lot of dirty looks._

Ron could well understand that and was glad Harry was doing okay. At least contact had been made, that took one weight off his shoulders. And he was pretty sure if both he and Harry were back in time, Hermione would be as well. Of course, he'd have to wait to confirm this, Hedwig would return to Harry after visiting Hermione before then coming back to him.

_I'm really looking forward to seeing you again Ron. Being back here, it's all come flooding back, what life was like before I knew what I was. This will probably be difficult and at times annoying but I really think we can all make a difference this time. But if for any reason you wanted to quit, I'd more than understand."_

"Idiot," Ron muttered, shaking his head. When was Harry going to get it through his thick head they were in this together?

With a pang, he remembered the two times he and Harry and fought and briefly parted ways. He deeply regretted it and his only excuse was that so much crap had been going on at both those times. It wasn't much of an excuse but he knew wallowing in guilt wasn't the answer. This time, he had a chance to do everything so much better; he wouldn't be a selfish prat.

After all, he'd certainly done a few things his brothers and little sister hadn't.

_Anyway, if you're still in then great. You're probably wondering about the Muggle money, well it's to help you get a wand._

Ron stared, he'd completely forgotten about that. He was going to go to school with Charlie's old wand but it seemed Harry had a plan to get him his real wand. Although he really had no idea how he was going to do that with Muggle money.

_Well, I would send you Galleons but your parents would obviously wonder where you got them. And since you can't tell them about me, this is the next best thing. My idea is that you go into the Muggle village and spend a little time there. Then in a few days time, you go back there and then go back to the Burrow with the news you won a competition. You can say you found a fifty pence piece that first time you were there and you just entered for the hell of it._

A grin slowly spread across his face as he read this last part, dimly remembering what a fifty pence piece was from Harry's first Christmas. He trembled slightly, could he really get his own wand two years earlier? His own wand, let's see Malfoy sneer at him now.

_There is more than enough for a wand and you should have a little left over, once you've exchanged the money for Galleons. Ron, I know things can be awkward when it comes to money and that normally you'd rather I didn't give you an amount like this. But I am sure this is important, you have to have your own wand, we can't wait two years. Make sure you ask for a new wand, this is the most important bit of our Hogwarts stuff._

Now Ron smiled wryly, he doubted his parents would deny him his own wand after that nightmare. And Harry was right; normally he would feel pretty weird about being given money. Harry was so generous and Ron did know this was many because he'd grown up with no friends or money and wanted to look after his friends. But Ron couldn't help but feel ashamed any time Harry bought himself something because he wished he could return the favour.

Sure, he could buy a round of butterbeers and some sweets but he couldn't' really treat them. And he so wanted to, he wanted to be the one to buy large ice creams or magical binoculars. One reason he was looking forward to the end of school was because he could get a job and start earning the money he could use to spend on his friends. He knew how Harry must have felt before first year.

But in this case, he didn't feel as bad as he normally did, he really wanted that wand. And Harry was right, what good would he be if he didn't have a proper wand? If they were going to take on Voldemort, they all had to have decent wands. Besides, he had to admit the idea of a little extra gold was very attractive. Someday, he could pay Harry back but for now, he'd be the best friend he could possibly be.

Was there any little way he could say thank you? Well...Harry did love real food, proper home cooking. When they first met, Harry had absolutely nothing to eat during the long train journey to Hogwarts; he'd been forced to fill up from the sweet trolley. Not that that hadn't been fun but it was still nice to have a little lunch prepared for you. His mum was always so busy she would sometimes give him the wrong sandwiches but he still appreciated it.

What if...he learned to cook a little? And maybe managed to make something for him, Harry and Hermione? They could still treat themselves but it would show he was trying to make an effort. And how knows, he might even enjoy it, especially as he'd be able to eat the results. Although he had no idea if he'd be any good at cooking, he had enjoyed making biscuits with his mum when he was younger. And unlike potion making, you didn't have to worry about adding certain ingredients in exactly the right order or worry about poisoning.

_Anyway, assuming your family accepts how you got the money, you should have a new wand within a week or so. There's a lot of ground we'll need to cover once we meet up, maybe you could write a list or something of issues we need to take care of. I think it'll make us more organised and it'll score more points with Hermione, you know she'll enjoy that._

This made Ron laugh, she could probably write a whole book on things they needed to do. It did sound like a good idea, he'd rather they have a proper plan. Sure, most of their plans went awry but that didn't mean good preparation wasn't essential. He rather enjoyed making up plans and trying to plan ahead, it was a lot like chess.

Noticing that not much more of the letter was left, he focused on it again.

_Not much else to say really, my trip to Diagon alley went well, it actually went even better than last time. It's weird, there's so many things I want to write but at the same time I've no idea what else to put. Since we've got a month left, I think I'd rather hold back a bit so that I've got something to write to you with. Although I will say I'm going to make an effort with my cousin Dudley._

"You are?" Ron said in mild surprise.

_Remember what I told you about, the last time I saw him? Well, he made an effort to reach out to me and I really appreciated but I think too much had happened between us. I think we would have kept in touch a little, at least send each other birthday and Christmas cards, maybe tell each other when we got married, had kids, stuff like that. But I don't think it would have been much more than that. I want to have a go at making something more than that and who knows. Maybe we could even be friends someday._

Ron stared at this before muttering.

"You're crazy mate."

Although if anyone could win round that overgrown whale it was Harry and if he wanted to have a go then good luck to him. As long as he didn't get hurt, Ron wasn't bothered if Harry wanted to try and establish a relationship with his cousin.

_Anyway, I've just remembered, you need to hang fire with Scabbers/Wormtail._ _As horrible as it is, I can't think of any logical way you coul show everyone who he really is. But don't worry, once we're together, we'll think of something, you won't have to put up with him long. I know it's a lot to ask but we don't want anyone finding out what we know. We all know what everyone thinks of 'crazy people.'_

"_Too right,"_ Ron thought to himself.

_But we will get rid of him somehow; we just need a careful plan. Don't forget to buy yourself a nice new wand and I'll see you in a month._

_Have a good summer_

_Harry_

Ron smiled, after the uneasy day having a letter from Harry made him feel a lot better. It was like things were coming back together, this was very familiar territory for him. Carefully, he folded the letter and placed it back in its envelope along with the Muggle money. He'd put this in a safe place, make sure no one could find it especially the twins. Best to go to the village as possible, then he could produce the money and not have to worry about it.

He cast one last look at Scabbers, the rat appeared to be sleeping. He had to be careful around him, if that rat got the slightest hint they were on to him...

"You okay, Hedwig?" he asked the snowy white owl who rustled her feathers importantly, indicating she was just fine.

He smiled, lightly stroking her and wishing he had Pig. Oh well, maybe somehow they'd find each other. You just never knew.

_Author's note. In the next chapter, we see Harry's attempts to bond with Dudley and also Hermione's pov again. Find out how they goes next time, suggestions are welcome._


	7. Chapter 7

_Author's note. Remember, I'm trying to write this story as realistically as possible. That means that even if the trio, let's say, tell Neville that he's not useless, that one day he'll be awesome...he's not just going to become awesome overnight. His transformation was something that took time as his confidence grew and he found something inside of himself that wanted to fight. Now, if the trio helps him, he probably will become confident quicker but it's still going to take time, at least a couple of years. After all, he's had ten years of being told he'll never match up to his parents, of having the magic forced out of him, a single pep talk isn't going to undo all of that. _

_Got a random question for people. You know all those secretly powerful Harry stories where he nearly always seems to be wearing glamour's and pretending to be dumb? Has anyone ever seen a story where he's actually told his best friends? I've never come across a story like that, it's normally revealed after the war or during 'reading the books' and it always strikes me as incredibly OOC. Just curious if there's a story out there where he does confide in them and they help keep his secret._

_Suggestions are welcome._

_Enjoy and please review._

Harry's POV

Harry was idly reading one of his school books when he heard the front door slam and a moment later, a car door was also slammed shut. He scooted along his bed and peered out the window, it looked like Uncle Vernon was heading out. It had been two days since he'd returned to his eleven year old self and so far, things were okay. He'd made it back to Privet Drive alright and the Dursley had let him in. All his things were in his bedroom which was staring to look like someone actually used it.

Hedwig's cage stood empty, she was still out delivering letters to Ron and Hermione. And next summer, Harry was going to make sure she was never locked up. If things worked out, Uncle Vernon wouldn't even dare to suggest she be locked up. Harry was very hopeful that Sirius would be freed before the year was even out and even if he had to spend some time with the Dursleys, he'd hopefully spend the rest of his second year summer with Sirius.

It was strange thinking of Sirius, he was alive but imprisoned in one of the worst places on Earth. He hated to think of Sirius there but at least he'd get him out far earlier than Third year. A part of him desperately wanted to grab Ron's rat and throw him to the authorities but it would never work. They had to be sensible or this could never work. They'd find a way to expose Wormtail and Sirius's name would finally be cleared and he could live his life a free man.

Harry smiled, it would be good to see Sirius free and happy, that was something he'd only gotten a glimpse of during his previous life. During Fifth year, Sirius had been trapped in his house and had been miserable and grouchy. Harry hated to think badly of his beloved Godfather but it was sadly true, not that he blamed him. Before he'd won Kreacher's loyalty, Grimmuald Place had been a truly dreadful place to live.

Of course, Sirius had always hated Kreacher so they would have to find some way to make both happy. Harry wasn't Kreacher's master anymore but he didn't want him to be miserable, the Elf had been a great friend to Harry and his friends. Maybe if they destroyed the Lockhart for Kreacher that might help to thawing the cold Elf. Also, surely Sirius would want to know how bravely his little brother died, that he fought for the Light in the end. Maybe the fact they both cared for Regulas could bring Sirius and Kreacher together but Harry really wasn't sure. He'd just have to see how things evolved.

"Diddy," he suddenly heard his aunt call, he'd left his bedroom door open. "Would you like me to get you anything from the shops?"

He heard a muffled reply from Dudley; undoubtedly his cousin was listing the things he wanted. So far, his cousin had completely avoided him, perhaps scared he'd get pigs ears to go with his tail. Harry did feel a bit sorry for Dudley; it must be pretty uncomfortable to sit on that. For Uncle Vernon, his sympathy only went so far especially with the dirty looks he kept getting. At least his aunt and uncle were too scared of him to try anything and possibly they were worried Hagrid might show up.

"I'll see you shortly, Diddydums," Aunt Petunia cooed to her precious son before she too headed out the door.

Harry looked back out the window to see his Aunt striding away, a large shopping bag in one hand; she'd probably be a while. And this might be a perfect opportunity for him to spend a little time with Dudley. He smiled, in his previous life, he'd never have imagined for a single moment he'd _want _to spend time with his cousin. Making sure his Aunt wasn't about to come back after forgetting something, he put his book down and got off the bed, stretching as he did so.

He'd spent the past two days in his room, giving his family a lot of space and a chance to cool down. It wasn't too bad, since he understood a lot of the theory and practical of the books, it was good going over them again. He might even be able to satisfy Snape's questioning on the subject of Potions, a feat barely anyone who wasn't Hermione managed.

He bent and lifted the loose floorboard out and riffled through his large bags of sweets, choosing a few good ones. Placing them on the bed, he then replaced the floorboard in its place before heading downstairs. Judging by the sound of electric explosions, Dudley was playing a computer game. Harry shook his head, how long had it been since he'd played one? Six, seven years, it was another strange thing to think about.

Sticking his head in the living room, he said cheerfully.

"Hey Dudley."

His cousin half yelped, half screamed and tumbled backwards, legs and arms waving madly. Fighting back a grin, Harry asked in what he hoped was a friendly.

"Fancy coming up to my room, Dudley?"

Dudley looked at him with an expression of horror as though Harry had suggested Dudley take a turn on the rack, with a few hot pokers thrown in for good measure. Very patiently, Harry said.

"Dud, you do know I've been a wizard all my life?"

As Dudley stared at him, Harry added.

"And how many times in the last ten years have I turned you into a toad?"

Dudley opened his mouth before frowning deeply as he realised that the correct answer was never and yet it didn't feel right. He pondered it for a few minutes before staring at Harry again, obviously wanting to be told the answer. Harry smiled at him and said.

"I'm not going to turn you into anything if you really don't want to come upstairs."

"I don't want to go," Dudley said promptly and then flinched as though expecting Harry's wrath to rain down upon him.

Harry shrugged casually and turned to leave, saying.

"Well, I guess I'm just going to have to eat all those sweets on my own."

Leaving the sitting room, he walked back up the stairs and disappeared into his room. After placing his book onto the bedside table, he relaxed against his pillow as he waited for his cousin to take the bait. It took a few minutes but heavy thumps told him Dudley was trying to quietly come up the stairs. There was a pause and then Dudley awkwardly peeped into the room, his piggy eyes falling on the spread of sweets on the bed.

"Dudley, what a surprise," Harry exclaimed with a grin. "Come in and join me."

Dudley's head move back slightly and then moved forward again, his fear of Harry was warring with his greedy love of sweeties. Finally, he slowly lumbered into the room and stood there nervously. Harry indicated the bed and Dudley came over and sat down with a thud, making the whole bed shake and groan. His eyes were still on the sweets but they were so unfamiliar that he couldn't quite snatch them as he normally would.

"Want to try some Bertie Botts every flavour beans?" Harry offered, holding the bag out for Dudley.

Dudley stared into it, entranced by the different coloured sweets before he slowly said.

"What flavours you got?"

"_Every_ flavour, Dud," Harry said with a smile. "There're things like chocolate, raspberry, toffee, coffee, marmalade, salami, grass, liver, pepper, every single flavour you can get. Including, if you're unlucky, bogey or vomit flavour."

"Why would you get those?" Dudley said in complete confusion and disbelief.

"That's the fun of it," Harry explained. "You've no idea what you'll get, you might get something you love or something you hate. Sort of like Russian roulette I suppose but their perfectly safe. You might get a disgusting flavour but it won't make you ill or anything."

"That's weird," Dudley declared, looking at each bean as though one might announce it was a nasty flavour.

"Yeah but fun," Harry said before grabbing a bright pink one. Offering it to Dudley, he said.

"Come on, this one looks safe, have a taste. I promise it won't do anything."

Dudley stared at it and then at Harry, perhaps trying to detect deception. When Harry just smiled engagingly at him, Dudley seemed to decide he could take a chance. After all, sweets had never let him down in the past, maybe he could trust them. He took the pink bean and popped it into his mouth, hesitantly chewing. A look of surprise came over his face and he said.

"That's candyfloss."

"Told you you'd like it," Harry said with a smile as he took a red one.

"What's wrong?" Dudley said in alarm at the grimace Harry pulled.

"Cinnamon," Harry said, his face a little screwed up. "Very strong flavour."

"Oh," Dudley said slowly. "Okay."

"You can take another one," Harry prompted as Dudley sat there awkwardly.

With a bit more confidence, Dudley took a darkish green one and popped it into his mouth. He chewed with more of a frown this time before saying.

"What's this one?"

"What does it taste like?" Harry asked as he popped a brown one into his mouth and discovered toast.

"I dunno," Dudley mumbled. "It's like that stuff we get on roast chicken."

"Might be an herb," Harry suggested. "Like rosemary or parsley maybe?"

Dudley shrugged, he apparently couldn't tell. He grabbed a couple more and shoved them into his mouth. These flavours appeared to be pleasing as he grinned as he noisily chewed. Harry helped himself to a few and ate them one by one; he preferred tasting the separate flavours. His cousin seemed to be enjoying himself and he took it as a good sign.

There was silence for a few minutes until Dudley suddenly shifted uncomfortably. Harry glanced at it and realised Dudley's tail was probably bothering him.

"You okay?"

"Yeah," Dudley grunted before hesitating and giving Harry a hopeful look.

"Can you get rid of it?"

Harry shook his head, he didn't know much control he had over his wand and he didn't want to risk causing injury. As Dudley looked crestfallen, Harry said slowly.

"I can't get rid of it because it's too advanced for me. But...I could write to Hogwarts and explain that we had an accident. They could send someone who could get rid of it properly and then you wouldn't have to go to hospital or anything."

"Could you?" Dudley said eagerly, leaning forward.

"Sure," Harry said with a nod. "As soon as Hedwig gets back, I'll send her with a letter."

As Dudley frowned, Harry added.

"Hedwig's my owl, in the wizard world owls are used to send letters."

"Why?" Dudley said bluntly.

"Don't know, that's just how they do things," Harry said with a shrug. "But she'll find Hogwarts, that's my school, no problem."

"Has she ever been there?" Dudley asked and Harry shrugged.

"Don't know but she will get there, don't worry."

"How can she go to place she's never been?" Dudley asked, very bemused.

Harry's grinned.

"Magic Dud, that's how."

"Oh," Dudley said in understanding although the expression on his face indicated he didn't really understand.

"But I think we'd better keep this between ourselves," Harry now said seriously. "You know Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia won't be happy but I'm sure I can get someone here who'll fix everything. But if anyone does ask how it happened, just blame me."

"But...it was that giant guy," Dudley said with a frown.

"Yeah but I don't want him getting into trouble," Harry explained. "He didn't really mean to, he just lost his temper."

"But...will you get in trouble?" his cousin asked slowly.

"Nah," Harry said. "It was accidental magic so I might get a lecture, nothing more."

Dudley was frowning very hard; he looked like he often did when presented with a maths question. Harry ate another couple of beans while Dudley tried to work something out.

"But you could get in trouble," Dudley finally said slowly. "Why would you do that?"

"Because Hagrid's my friend," Harry said patiently. "Because he would be in a lot more trouble than I will be. So I don't mind covering for him."

"Oh," Dudley said, still very bemused.

Harry knew the concept of being altruistic might take a while to sink through Dudley's learned selfish behaviour but he was hopeful it would eventually. As his cousin sat there, still thinking about what Harry had said, the black haired boy glanced out the window. It was a rather dull day and Harry was debating whether or not he'd take a walk later.

Seeing that his cousin still looked confused, Harry said.

"Tell you what Dudley, why don't we do this again?"

As Dudley looked at him, he explained.

"When your parents aren't about, you can come and try some more sweets. I don't think they would approve of this and Aunt Petunia might chuck all the sweets away."

Dudley's eyes widened, he did not like the sound of that. Harry smiled, Dudley could keep some things from his parents and he was very optimistic about him keeping this one. Maybe in time, they could actually get to know each other and perhaps Dudley might even want to receive letters from Harry. It was a bit of a long shot but Harry did want to try and help Dudley become the man had last seen before his Horcrux hunt.

It would probably take a while, Dudley was only here because he loved sweets so much but that didn't mean it wouldn't happen. At the very least, Harry did want to encourage Dudley to lose weight and become fitter. And even get him into boxing sooner although he had slight reservations about bully Dudley being able to hit better and harder. But without a doubt Dudley had loved his sport and it had been a positive focus for him. If Harry could become his friend, then he could help his cousin to realise that he gained nothing from being a bully.

"You probably should go back to the game," Harry suggested. "Don't know when Aunt Petunia will get back."

Dudley nodded and got up but paused.

"You'll give me more sweets?"

"If you don't tell anyone, yes," Harry said with a nod. "Some are more exciting but they can't hurt you."

Dudley nodded again and lumbered for the door but then he paused again.

"And you'll send that owl to that school?"

"As soon as she gets back," Harry promised. "I'll even show you the letter and we can send her off together. It might take her a few days, she'll have to go all the way to the North of Scotland but she will get there."

"You better be right?" Dudley said and while he was still too wary of Harry to sound really threatening, there was still a hint of warning.

"Believe me Dud, I am," Harry said with quite confidence. "The wizarding world doesn't want the Muggles finding out about them and your tail could raise suspicions. Only direct family members of wizards and witches are allowed to know about us."

Harry paused and then said.

"I'm pretty sure I don't have to tell you that if you tried telling anyone about me no one would believe you but you really don't want to get mixed up with the Ministry of Magic. But I'll soon be at school and you'll be at yours, you won't have to think about me until next summer."

"Yeah," Dudley said but he sounded a little unsure. He continued out of the room and Harry was left by himself.

He sighed and grabbed his book that had gone better than he expected. He wondered who would be sent to fix Dudley and Uncle Vernon's tails, probably Professor McGonagall as she was the expert on Transfiguration. It would be good to see her or even any teacher Hogwarts, even Snape if only because it would be interesting to see how his Aunt reacted.

Harry grinned, that would be a pretty funny sight indeed.

Ron's POV

Apparently, you couldn't go wrong with pancakes, one of the easiest dishes out there. Apparently, Ron could go completely and utterly wrong with them. He stared angrily at the burnt yet sticky mess that should have been a tasty pancake. He didn't understand what he'd done wrong; he mixed all the ingredients together (after picking out egg shells and breaking apart the lumps of flour) and then added some butter to a drying pan, allowed it to melt before pouring in some of the batter. All he'd needed to do then was let it cook and then eat it how had that gone wrong?

"I don't believe this," Ron exclaimed in frustration, picking away at the burnt pancake with a spatula.

"Something wrong, Ron?" his mum asked, bustling over.

"It didn't work," Ron said mulishly, poking at the gloop.

"Oh well, never mind," she said soothingly, vanishing the mess with a wave of her wand. "You'll get the hang of it, don't worry."

Ron grunted feeling very disheartened. His mum had been very bemused when he'd come to her with the request that he be taught to how to cook. After all, she was the cook of the family and none of her children or husband ever went hungry. Why would Ron want to cook? He'd told her that he knew that Muggle kids could cook and he just really fancied learning how.

When his dad heard this, he'd been very enthusiastic about the idea of Ron learning a Muggle skill. Ron couldn't cook quite like his mum could because he wasn't yet allowed to use magic but that didn't mean she couldn't teach him a few things. And after all, there was no harm in teaching him and it could be a hobby that would eat up some time until Ron went to Hogwarts.

Everyone, even Percy got twitchy in the last month before going back to Hogwarts; the build up of excitement was almost unbearable. The twins raced about a lot more, spending as much time on their brooms as possible to work off pent up energy while Percy spent even more time studying. Ginny was in a bit of a sulky mood, bemoaning the fact the last of her brothers was leaving her behind. Ron knew she'd get over it but he also knew it was hard.

He'd always hated seeing his brothers off to Hogwarts but he'd always had Ginny for a playmate and company. She'd be completely on her own for almost a year, not counting the Christmas holiday in Romania where she'd be with Charlie. Ron smiled wryly at this, once he might have been jealous but after riding an actual dragon...not so much.

"Why don't you try again?" his mum now suggested. "Just make sure the pan is nice and hot and then pour just enough to coat the bottom of it. Then you just wait until the top looks cooked and try to flip it with your spatula."

"Okay mum," Ron said, vaguely wondering if he'd ever managed to get the hang of this cooking lark. At this rate, it really would take him six years before he could safely call himself a cook.

Sighing, he added more butter to the clean pan and put it back over the heat. He'd be eating his own pancakes by the end of the day if it killed him. Watching the butter melt, he wondered about the letter he'd sent to Hermione and how she'd receive it.

Hermione's POV

Hermione sighed as she happily perused a new book while stroking her purring cat. This very day, she and her parents had gone to Diagon Alley and completed Hermione's Hogwarts shopping. And as she'd promised herself, she'd convinced her parents to let her buy a pet and had managed to buy Crookshanks. Her loyal ginger cat had been very pleased to see her and she wondered if somehow _he'd _gone back in time.

It was impossible to work out and she was just glad she had him again. She'd dearly missed him during the Hunt, his presence was always comforting. He'd given his new home the once over, rubbing madly against any sharp edges he found before deciding that it was acceptable. Her parents seemed to think he'd be company for her while she was away, a part of them was worried she might have trouble making friends.

She smiled widely, she couldn't wait to write to them and tell them all about her _new_ friends. After that first Halloween, it had been so good to describe in great detail about the two boys she'd made friends with and she'd happily received a reply of congratulations. Maybe this time, her parents and the Weasleys could spend more time together; it had saddened her as the years went on as she spent more time with Ron's family than her own. There had always been good reasons why but it had still been painful being increasingly away from them.

"It won't be like that this time," she said firmly to herself allowed as Crookshanks purred in agreement. "This time we'll all be together."

Her ginger cat merely stretched, rolled and curled up into a tight ball making Hermione laugh. She tickled his cheek before focusing again on her book, which was on healing. The bookkeeper had been rather surprised at all the different books she wanted, most First years probably only got what was on the book list. The first time round, she'd gotten extra books to do some background reading on the new world she was entering but this time, she'd gone further.

Not only had she gotten her school books, she'd also one on basic healing, a brief summary of wizarding law, book of runes, a couple on defence, Hogwarts a History (naturally) and arithmancy. Just because she couldn't take a couple of subjects until Third year didn't mean she couldn't swot up on them beforehand. Thankfully, her parents had been happy to get them for her; they wanted her to be as prepared as possible for going away to this strange new school. She'd never been one for buying flashy new gadgets, books were the only things she really splashed out on and it was she was still cheaper to buy for than some of the kids from her Primary.

The bookkeeper had still felt the need to question why a little First year would want books like this. Hermione had just calmly explained that she wanted to learn as much as possible and she was interested in all these subjects. The man had blinked before murmuring something about 'Ravenclaw.'

"What did he mean by that?" her dad had asked, not sure if that was some sort of insult.

"Oh, he just thinks that the House I'll go to," Hermione had explained. "Ravenclaws are supposed to very clever and love studying."

"You probably will go there, then," her dad had laughed, giving her shoulders a squeeze.

"We'll see," Hermione had replied with a smile.

She hadn't really thought about Houses, she just thought of her herself as a Gryffindor. She figured she could discuss it with the boys; she wasn't concerned with thinking about other Houses right now. At the moment, she was waiting for letters from Harry and Ron. She suspected that Harry would write to Ron first, since Ron would probably be in the most need of reassurance. She couldn't imagine what it would be like to lose a brother like that and then find that he was alive.

Of course, she'd thought she'd lost Harry but it wasn't quite the same. They hadn't been anywhere near Harry's body and he had only been 'dead' for five minutes. Fred's body however had been laid out and they'd all see how still and _cold_ he was. They'd had time to accept that he was truly gone and never coming back...

Well, until they'd gone back in time that is.

"This could get a bit confusing," she sighed, examining a page on treating bites.

She was determined that this time around; at least one of them would be an expert on dealing with injuries and the like. As long as she learned the most important parts, the boys could pick it up from her. She was pretty sure they would like to learn a bit, after all the horrible injuries they'd received so she wouldn't have to worry about nagging them.

Hermione smiled, it would be nice just having to worry about whether they'd put effort into their homework again. That was the sort of thing she wanted to worry about again, not whether they'd live another day. Hopefully even the boys would be able to do better on their schoolwork this time round.

"Huh?" she suddenly exclaimed as Crookshanks sat bolt upright, staring at the slightly open window.

She stood up and cautiously walked over, what had gotten her cat's attention? To her relief, she spotted the familiar shape of a snowy white owl soaring towards her window. Eagerly, she shoved her window open and waited for Hedwig to fly in, which the owl did so very gracefully.

"Hedwig," she greeted with a wide smile as Hedwig came to rest on a bedpost, well out of reach of Crookshanks who was eying the new arrival with interest.

The owl ruffled her feathers before presenting a leg containing _two_ letters. One from Harry and one from..._Ron. _Her heart started to pound, finally, she had word from her two best friends. But just what did those letters contain?

_Author's note. What's in the letters to Hermione? How does Harry's attempt at bonding with Dudley go and can he convince a teacher to come round? What's Ron up to? Find out next time, until then._


	8. Chapter 8

_Author's note. According to Harry Potter Wiki, a galleon is about £4.93 although it also states that £24.60 would be more appropriate. I think the latter makes more sense because since something like a wand can be around 7 Galleons, it would make sense that would translate into a lot of Muggle money. So for simplicity, I've rounded 24.60 up to 25 and so each Sickle makes £1.47 while one Knut is £0.05 so twenty Knuts are needed for a single pound. Fun fact, you need 493 Knuts for a single Galleon, that's a lot of Knuts._

_Suggestions are welcome._

_Enjoy and please review._

Hermione's POV

Hermione stared at the letters for a few minutes before she put Ron's on the bed and carefully opening Harry's letter. It started off by saying if she received this letter; she'd clearly gone back in time. It also stated he'd sent Hedwig to Ron's first and it should be obvious whether he'd gone back as well. This made Hermione smile, Ron had definitely gone back in time and she was very glad.

Harry had gone on to say that he was just going to hang out at Privet Drive; he didn't want to cause trouble with anyone so he'd only see her and Ron on September the First. Hermione had expected that so it didn't bother her and she quickly moved on. Harry told her he was going to spend the summer studying and trying to get to know his cousin.

She was mildly surprised at that but it was a good idea for him to try. It would certainly make his summer holidays a lot easier if he got on with his cousin. Harry advised that they wait to have a big discussion when they were all together, because with only one owl, it would take too long sending letters back and forth between three people. He did add that they could all make up some lists so they would know what they wanted to talk about once they did meet up.

"That's actually a good idea," she said to herself, she would enjoy doing that. Getting your thoughts down on paper was always a good idea.

Harry did mention she had the option of opting out but she more or less skipped over that part. She knew that Harry was just trying to be noble but there was no way she was quitting. Even though they'd been through a lot of bad times and there had been moments she'd felt like giving up, she knew overall she didn't want that. She wanted to be Harry and Ron's friend and help them get rid of Voldemort once and for all.

The rest of the letter was quite general; she suspected he'd written a pretty similar one to Ron. That didn't matter, what was important was that they'd established contact and could go from there. They would all use this summer to take a real break, mentally recover from all they'd seen and experienced. Only when they were back together would they get back into things.

She finished reading Harry's letter and after carefully putting it on the bed, picked up Ron's. She remembered him kissing her and shivered what would his letter contain? Trying to contain her nerves, she slowly broke the seal and opened his letter.

_Dear Hermione_

_I hope you're doing okay, must be great seeing your parents again. I know its great seeing my family again, especially Fred._

She smiled sadly at the letter, poor Ron.

_I actually freaked out a little when I woke up, I couldn't believe I was back and stuff. Mum and dad just think I had a bad dream so it's okay. Everyone else seems to believe it and their all forget it in time probably. I won't though._

"Of course you won't," Hermione whispered, who could ever forget that.

_Does matter, he's alive and that's what counts. Anyway, I got a letter from Harry so he's okay, he's actually planning to make friends with that overgrown whale, Dudley, can you believe that? What's next, we're all best pals with Malfoy? Hah!_

Hermione chuckled, that was admittedly hard to imagine. But it would be nice if they weren't all enemies this time and she would definitely put that on a list. Not having to worry about Draco Malfoy would certainly take a weight off her mind. She gave Crookshanks a little trickle under his chin before continuing to read.

_Harry sent me some money so I can get myself a proper wand, don't worry, he thought of a good story for how I got it._

Hermione was impressed as she read just what Harry's plan was, it was very well thought out. Ron's parents were much less likely to question Muggle money than Galleons. It really would be good if Ron got a new wand, she'd almost completely forgotten about that. Perhaps she should try and write a little journal of all the adventures over the years, just to ensure she didn't forget anything important.

_I can't wait to get my own wand; I might even end up being one of the top students._

Hermione could tell Ron was joking with this last point but she thought he might actually be right. After all, they were pretty much NEWT students redoing First year, that should put them quite far ahead of their fellow classmates. Even if they held back, she'd be very much surprised if the three of them weren't the top students. It wasn't arrogant, just simple fact and it would be nice not having the boys nag her so much.

"_Although they probably would anyway,"_ she thought fondly.

_I have been doing a little studying, not as much as you and Harry obviously but a little. Actually feels nice just to relax and go over stuff which did surprise me. Got a bit of mickey from Fred and George about it, gits._

Hermione smiled, glad Ron was comfortable about his brothers again or was at least getting there.

_Then Percy spotted me and started lecturing me about making a good start, blah blah blah. Just as I remember him but this time, I'll keep an eye on him. I'm not letting him walk out on us again, no way._

She hoped Ron could do this, no family should be torn apart by jealously and misunderstanding.

_I don't think there's too much else to say at the moment except that I won't reveal who that rat is yet. It's bloody awful knowing he's there but I can't do anything without people thinking I'm crazy. As soon as we're back at Hogwarts, we're coming up with something to get rid of him; I think that should be first on our list._

She nodded, that was perfectly reasonable. And also, it would mean that an innocent man in Azkaban would be released. It would be strange to see Sirius again but nice, she hadn't really gotten to know him very well last time. Obviously, he'd spent as much time with Harry as possible but he seemed to get on better with Ron than her. It didn't overly bother her, just one of those things.

And speaking of lists, I've started the one Harry wants us to do but I've also done one especially for you.

"For me?" she repeated out loud in surprise. She hadn't been expecting that.

_Hope you like it...not too stupid or anything._

By the looks of it, Ron had struggled to write this part, there was ink everywhere although she could still read it.

_Anyway, I'm really looking forward to seeing you...and Harry. Take care of yourself; I should be able to send you a couple more letters before we get to Hogwarts. Hope you enjoy studying, I know you'll be doing a lot of that._

This made her laugh before she suddenly saw the very last part of his letter. By the looks of it, he'd hesitated before finally going for it.

_Love Ron_

"Oh Ron," she whispered, a hand on her heart as it thudded. He was really maturing at long last.

She eagerly went for his list, wanting to know what it said.

_Ron's list of things to do with Hermione_

_1. Don't wait seven years to kiss Hermione._

_2. Ask her to the Ball before anyone, especially dumb Krum does._

_3. Support S.P.E.W (see, I didn't write spew) fully._

_4. Never ever leave her again._

_5. Punch gits like Malfoy if he even looks at her funny. _

_6. Make sure that bloody Basilisk doesn't get anywhere near her._

_7. Never let anyone talk down to her because she's smarter than them._

_8. Learn Muggle stuff._

_9. Do my own homework (sometimes)_

_10. Teach Hermione to fly._

She didn't know what to say, what he'd written was just so sweet. This parchment didn't have any stains but she suspected he'd written several copies before coming up with this final one. The last one confused her for a moment before realising that Ron was trying to be nice as she'd never been comfortable on brooms. Plus, it probably would be quite romantic having a broom ride together.

The young girl smiled, maybe she really had found her Prince Charming after all.

Ron's POV

"Mum...dad...I won!" Ron called joyfully as he rushed into the kitchen, waving a handful of banknotes.

"Won what dear?" his mum answered absentmindedly probably thinking he meant a game of Quidditch or something along those lines.

It was now four days after he'd woken up in his bed and he'd finally decided to reveal the money. The day after he'd first woken up, he'd gone for a short walk down to the local Muggle village, using the excuse he wanted to stretch his legs. He'd hung around for a little while before returning, knowing he just had to wait a little longer before he got his hands on his own wand.

"The competition," he said excitedly, rushing up to her and waving the notes at her. "The chess one, I entered it the other day and I won."

"W-what?" she said in confusion, pausing in her stirring of a savoury sauce and staring at him. "You won?"

"Yeah," Ron said, chest puffed out with pride. "Mum...I think I've won quite a lot, we can count it and see."

"But... but how?" she exclaimed as his dad came through to see what the fuss was. His dad was having a half day as things were so slow at the office at the moment but once they were back at school, he'd be working his arse off.

"You remember I was in the village the other day?" Ron said breathlessly. "Well, there was this competition to see what was the quickest way to checkmate...I entered it and I just found out I won!"

"Really son?" his dad questioned, coming over to Ron and his wife, staring at the money. "You've really won some money."

"Yeah," Ron said proudly. "Its Muggle money but we can get that changed, can't we?"

"Of course," said Arthur Weasley distractedly as he took the money and examined it. "This...this looks like it's a lot of money."

"I know, it's great isn't it?" Ron said eagerly, praying it wouldn't be questioned too much.

"Of course dear but how did you know you'd won?" Molly asked and Ron quickly said.

"I went back to the village, just for a look and I thought I'd check about the competition. I...I didn't expect to actually win."

"How did you enter?" Arthur now questioned and Ron quickly said.

"Well, as I was walking along the road, I found a bit of Muggle money, I think they called it fifty pence or something. And when I got to the village and found out about this competition and I had enough for it. Can you believe it?"

"It's wonderful, Ron," Molly cooed, ruffling his hair. "I'm sure we can exchange it for Galleons, can't we Arthur?"

"I imagine so," he said thoughtfully. "After all, Muggleborns must have some way of getting hold of Galleons..."

"And I can get a wand," Ron said excitedly.

"A...a wand?" his father repeated.

"Yeah," said Ron, his tone becoming more serious. "I want my own wand dad, not just Charlie's old one. Please?"

His parents stared at him for a moment before smiling.

"Well, if we have enough Galleons after exchanging this money, I'm sure there's no reason why we can't do just that," Arthur said with a smile. "Is that what you really want Ron?"

Ron nodded.

"I want to do well at school," he said softly. "And I need my own wand for that."

That did it for his mum at least who immediately looked proud.

"Of course we'll get you a new wand Ronnie, I could do with doing a little bit of shopping, we'll go on Thursday."

"Great," Ron said, feeling very pleased with how that went.

"I'll look after this for you, shall I?" his dad offered and Ron nodded, that was fine with him.

Things were starting to look up.

Harry's POV

"Now these," Harry began. "Are chocolate frogs."

It had been a few days since Harry had first attempted a connection with Dudley and so far, it was going well. Dudley didn't really want to talk but Harry was fine with that. If they could at least reach a comfortable silence and part amiably at the end of the summer, Harry would be satisfied.

Dudley's eyes were currently lit up, he loved chocolate. But Harry knew he needed to warn his cousin about the frogs.

"Okay now it is just chocolate," he assured Dudley. "They're not real frogs but they are enchanted to hop about a bit."

Dudley stared at him, aghast. Harry quickly said.

"It's just for a bit of excitement, it won't hurt you. It's just chocolate shaped like frogs which move a bit but you can still eat them. Here, I'll show you, okay?"

The large blond boy nodded dumbly and Harry unwrapped one. The frog promptly hopped out of his hand and across the bed. Dudley squeaked and flinched backwards as it headed towards him. Harry reached forward and grabbed it before bringing it to his mouth and taking a big bite.

"See," he said mouth full of chocolate. "No problem."

His cousin didn't look so sure but as Harry continued to munch, the smell of chocolate became too much and he grabbed a packet. Slowly, he opened it and stared at his frog that chose to remain still for a moment before doing a humungous leap and landing on Dudley's t-shirt. Dudley did goggled at it, he seemed torn between screaming and just staring at the enchanted frog currently hanging onto him.

"Just eat it, it's only chocolate," Harry reminded him, finishing his own frog.

Dudley swallowed and then in a fast movement, seized the frog and sank his teeth into his body. His body sagged with relief as no frog guts oozed out and it was just delicious chocolate. He happily munched the rest of it before greedily eying the other chocolate frogs. Harry chuckled before gesturing.

"On you go Dud?"

Dudley delightedly took another and opened it. To Harry's satisfaction, Dudley did allow the frog a few hops before eating it. His cousin was slowly becoming relaxed about magic; at least as far as wizard sweets were concerned. And even better, Dudley hadn't breathed a word about this to Uncle Vernon or Aunt Petunia. If they could just keep this up, Harry had high hopes.

"What's that?" Dudley said in his blunt way, pointing at a book.

Ever since he'd returned, Harry had basically studied, gone for long walks or did chores and before Dudley had appeared, he'd been engrossed in a text book. It was Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and Harry had already written a few choice comments in them. He honestly couldn't resist, especially the bit where for dangerous creatures, you need a permit and he'd gleefully written that clearly, Hagrid hadn't read this.

It was silly but it passed the time.

"Oh, that's one of my books," Harry said, glancing at the tome in question. "It's about magical creatures and well, where to find them. Got everything from dragons to mermaids."

"They exist?" Dudley exclaimed, amazed as Harry nodded. "What about Werewolves?"

Harry grinned and nodded before saying.

"I've met one."

"You have not," Dudley said and Harry simply.

"I have, you meet all sorts in the wizarding world. Of course, it wasn't a full moon so he wasn't transformed but I still saw one."

"What about vampires?" Dudley demanded and again, Harry nodded.

"Zombies?"

Harry tried not to grimace as he remembered the living dead who'd attacked him and Dumbledore. Instead, he simply nodded as Dudley's eyes went wide.

"Whoa," Dudley couldn't help but exclaim and Harry grinned.

"And all those are at your school?" Dudley said in awe.

"Ahh, no," Harry corrected. "We're generally just taught by other wizards and witches although there are things like Centaurs and Unicorns in the forest next to the school. Things like werewolves and vampires tend to be shunned by wizarding society."

"Why?" Dudley asked confused. Surely, if anything accepted things like that, it would be wizards?

"Because the wizarding world isn't the most tolerant," Harry said with a sad smile. "I mean for instance, while most wizards don't mean Muggles (normal people) any harm, they don't think much of your overall intelligence."

As Dudley stared, Harry explained.

"Because Muggles don't use magic and because the majority of wizards don't understand a single thing about technology, they think of Muggles as being rather dim to the point of stupid. See, while it's the goal of the Ministry of Magic to keep Muggles from finding out about magic, most wizards don't seem to appreciate that the reason Muggles don't know about magic is because the Ministry's efforts work. They laugh over a Muggle's confusion when something happens they can't explain, because it's the result of magic but said Muggle doesn't know that. Wizards constantly lament the fact Muggles don't use magic and ponder how they manage without it."

Harry paused for a breath before saying.

"You know what wizards do instead of a telephone?"

Dudley shook his head.

"Well, they throw magic powder into a fire and then call out the name of the house they want to talk to and stick their head into the fire."

The eyes on his cousin nearly popped out of his head as he said.

"That's not true."

"It is," Harry laughed. "To them, that's perfectly normal, they just chat away with their head stuck in the fire and just pull out when their finished. If they want to visit properly, they actually step into the fire and get transported to their friend's fireplace."

"Why don't they just use a telephone?" Dudley questioned, still looking shocked.

"Well, partly because magic and electricity doesn't go together well," Harry explained. "But also because they just don't get technology, they think it's weird and also...some wizards don't like Muggles so they think using their technology is beneath them."

"Their stupid," Dudley said contemptuously.

"Well, they are ignorant," Harry conceded. "It would be much better if wizards took more time to find out about Muggles and how they do things. I'm afraid I don't know how that can be changed but hopefully, one day it can."

"_Hopefully, me and my friends can help change that,"_ Harry thought to himself.

Dudley was frowning; these issues were a little too much for his eleven year old mind. Harry quickly the subject quickly.

"You don't have to worry about that Dud; I don't know how many wizards you actually end up meeting but probably not that many."

Dudley nodded in acceptance. Harry was about to ask if there was anything else his cousin wanted to know when the doorbell suddenly rang. Harry looked up, wondering who that was.

"I'll get it," he said, knowing Dudley wouldn't be very keen to go all the way downstairs only to come back up again.

Dudley just shrugged, eagerly helping himself to another chocolate frog. Harry made his way downstairs, feeling quite good. This summer was a lot more pleasant this time around and he had a feeling it would only get better. He straightened his baggy t-shirt as he reached the front door and opened it.

His jaw dropped as he came face to face with Professor McGonagall who was standing impatiently on the front step. She was wearing a long, dark coat which barely disguised the fact that she was a witch. Her hair was in its usual tight bun with not a single strand out of place. Underneath her long coat, she was wearing a witch's tunic and fondly, Harry noted it had a tartan shawl across the shoulder and around her waist.

"Good afternoon," she said briskly as Harry continued to gape. "Mr Potter I presume?"

"Yes," Harry said, managing to find his voice. "Um...are you from...ah...Hogwarts?"

"I am indeed," she said in a no nonsense tone before asking. "May I come in?"

"Of course Professor," Harry said dutifully, stepping aside and letting her in before closing the door.

He led her through to the sitting room and said.

"Um, would you like a cup of tea?"

"That would be nice, thank you," she said, taking a seat in an armchair. "Is your Uncle and cousin home?"

"Only my cousin," Harry replied. "My Aunt's out with her friends and my Uncle's at work, he should be back about five. I wasn't expecting you so soon, Professor."

"Yes, I suppose I am a little earlier," she conceded. "But I do not like to be late for anything."

Harry nodded, that was Professor McGonagall. Quickly, he said.

"I'll just make the tea; will you be okay here, Professor?"

"I believe so Mr Potter, thank you," she said with a small smile, she seemed to appreciate his manners.

He smiled and headed quickly to the kitchen where he raced to put on the tea. While the kettle was boiling, he looked out some nice plates which he placed Aunt Petunia's special biscuits and delicate cakes. These she saved for her ladies and other important guests but they weren't used that often. Dudley usually got them right before they were past their best and Aunt Petunia simply made more.

Harry was just pouring some milk into a delicate little jug when the kettle sang, indicating that it was read. He poured the tea into a pretty teapot and carefully placed it on the tray laden with cup and saucer, plates of biscuits and cakes, sugar bowl and milk jug. He picked up the tray and with great care, made his way into the hallway where he paused to yell upstairs.

"Oi Dudley, get down here a moment. I've got cake."

That naturally got a response and a moment later; Dudley was peering out from Harry's room. Harry grinned up at him and said.

"Come on Dud, you can get it in the sitting room."

"Is that your cousin?" Professor McGonagall asked as Harry delicately placed the tray on a little table in front of her.

"Yeah, that's Dudley," Harry confirmed, pouring her a cup of tea. "How do you like your tea, Professor?"

"Just a little milk and sugar," she said, clearly listening to the sound of Dudley thumping downstairs.

Harry had just handed her a cup when Dudley entered, his cousin hadn't really been in a rush to get into the sitting room. His eyes widened as he saw Professor McGonagall and even he could tell she was a witch. Taking a sip of her tea, she said without preamble.

"Mr Dudley Dursley, I take it?"

"Uh," he stammered, shooting a wide eyed look at Harry.

"It's okay Dudley," Harry said soothingly, grabbing his cousin's arm and dragging him over to the sofa. "She's from Hogwarts; she's here to help you and your dad. Go and have a cake."

"That is why I am here," she confirmed as Dudley shakily took a cake to steady his nerves. "My name is Professor McGonagall and I am going to be your Cousin Harry's Transfiguration teacher at Hogwarts. I should be able to easily take care of your little problem in a matter of moments."

"You can get rid of it?" Dudley questioned in a slight croak.

"I can," she said with assured confidence. "If you like, once I've finished this cup of tea, I can get rid of it for you."

Harry gave Dudley a nudge, causing his cousin to say.

"Uh...yeah."

Harry muttered 'thank you' which Dudley automatically repeated out loud.

"You're very welcome," she said, eying both of them beadily. "Just how did you get your tail, Mr Dursley?"

"Uh, Harry wants me to tell you he did it," Dudley blurted out and Harry mentally smacked his forehead. Smooth one, Dud.

"Oh does he?" Professor McGonagall said sternly. "So who was it that gave you that tail?"

Harry wanted to answer but the cat was out of the bag now. Besides, she was looking at Dudley and he knew she wouldn't appreciate him interrupting.

"That giant guy who came to get Harry," Dudley mumbled, she looked too severe for him not to obey. "He got mad cause of what dad said."

"Uh...Uncle Vernon called Professor Dumbledore a crackpot old fool," Harry explained helpfully. "My Uncle's not very keen on me going to Hogwarts so he had a bit of an argument with Hagrid."

"Hagrid is very protective of the Headmaster," Professor McGonagall confirmed before asking Harry. "Why were you trying to pretend it was you who hexed your cousin and Uncle?"

"Hagrid said he could get into trouble," Harry said softly. "He didn't mean to hurt them, he just lost his temper and I didn't want him sacked or anything. He's not going to, is he?"

"I do not think so," she said kindly with a very small smile. It seemed she was impressed Harry was trying to protect the gamekeeper. "However, I will need to have a word with Hagrid about controlling himself."

"Thank you," Harry said with a grin as Dudley just watched with a bemused expression.

"You're welcome," she said primly, taking another sip of water before looking at Dudley. "If you pull your trousers down enough for me to see the tail, I will be able to get rid of it."

"Will...will it hurt?" Dudley questioned.

"Certainly not," she said briskly, taking out her wand from inside her coat. "Come along now."

Dudley slow got up and fumbled with his trouser with Harry pointedly looking away. He had no desire to see his cousin's behind, even the very top. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Dudley trembling all over, he really was terrified. Before Harry could say anything, there was a flash and a yelp and he turned to see Dudley clutched his bottom.

"There, that's that taken care of," his teacher said calmly, tucking away her wand again.

"You okay, Dud?" Harry asked as Dudley hesitantly rubbed his behind.

"It's gone," he said in amazement. "You did it."

"Of course," she said, taking another sip of tea as Harry grinned.

Now all they needed to do was deal with his Uncle.

_Author's note. How does the encounter with Uncle Vernon go? Find out next time, until then._


	9. Chapter 9

_Author's note. Bit of a time jump here because I didn't want to drag the story down by just continuing for the trio to exchange letters. Hope everyone likes it, I just thought it would be more interesting for everyone to go right to September the first with an obvious flashback._

_A strange pet peeve of mine is fanon in some Harry Potter stories. For instance, when they have networks of child services physiatrists, ect when this clearly doesn't exist in canon. Well, I don't mind these sort of things too much because mostly the story featuring them is well written, just a little distracting as it's obvious their not canon. But what I really hate is things like extra classes eg. Wand lore, I just want to shout 'they don't have those in the books'_

_I know it's an irrational thing and I know my stories have featured things you could call fanon but I've always tried to be as canon as possible. That being said, I do want this to be an interesting, exciting story so I wonder about what new things I can add that aren't so glaring non canon that you can't bear to read it. So, what good but new things could I introduce to keep the story line riveting? Doesn't have to be major excitement, it can be ordinary things like...a school trip? Just anything that's a little bit different that can make the story better. _

_Suggestions are welcome._

_Enjoy and please review._

Harry's POV

Harry sat on his bed, staring at his truck which had been packed and was ready to be transported. Hedwig was sitting on top of her cage, he didn't want to put her in yet as she'd be there for the best part of the day. It was too early for breakfast but Harry couldn't' sleep even though he'd made this same journey several times. It was always like this, the building excitement, the knowledge that he'd soon be on his way to Hogwarts.

Knowing that he would soon be reunited with his friends was another reason he hadn't been able to sleep, it had been a whole month since they'd last seen each other. Both Ron and Hermione had replied to his first letters by telling him in no uncertain terms that they were with him to the end. He still sometimes read those words, just the fact that they were so determined to stay with him really helped a lot.

Because after all the terrible things he had witnessed and experienced, it was sometimes hard to sleep at night. It wasn't so much that he had bad dreams, they'd been quite varied this last month, but the fact that he lay awake dwelling on them. The faces of those who'd died flashed before his eyes, Cedric, Sirius, Dobby, Fred, Colin, Dumbledore and even Snape. It also bothered him that he didn't know all who had died; he hadn't had a chance to examine all those bodies laid out in the Great Hall. Even though he knew they were all alive, and for the most part well, it was still difficult to forget their dull, staring eyes.

Sirius was the exception, the last time he saw him living, his eyes had been alive and full of shock. That had been one reason Sirius's death had been the hardest, there was no body and therefore, no closure. It was like Sirius could return, he hadn't technically seen him dead so there was always this dull feeling that Sirius could come back. It had taken him a long time to get over this and he knew that he could only really lay that particular ghost to rest once he saw Sirius again.

That wasn't the only thing that kept him awake at night, Ginny also haunted his thoughts. The girl he loved was now a ten year old girl with no memory of him whatsoever. She hadn't gone through the traumatic experience of the Chamber; she hadn't slowly gotten over that and grown into a fun, confident young woman with a talent for Quiddtich. The talent for Quiddtich would still be there and Harry had no doubt that she would become a player on the Gryffindor team one day but everything else?

When he'd first met Ginny, properly in Second year, she had a crippling crush on him. Before it could be resolved, she'd gotten that diary and Harry knew Tom Riddle would have probably nurtured that crush. This would have ensured that Ginny couldn't get close to Harry, couldn't get close enough to confide that something bad was happening but at the same time, she was left entranced by her hero.

Because of this, when Harry saved her almost literally like a knight in shining armour, she just couldn't get over her gratefulness. Her crush was so connected to her terrible experience that she only got over it gradually as she recovered from being in Tom Riddle's power. She could barely talk to him in his Third year but by Fourth year she was able to contribute to a conversation he was in although others always had to be involved. Half way through Fourth year, she was emotionally recovered enough to have a boyfriend and when said boyfriend did not try hurt her, her confidence grew.

Thus by the time Fifth year rolled round, she was able to talk to him quite freely. At the time, it seemed like a startling transformation but he had been so distracted by the Tournament that he honestly hadn't noticed her changing until they were separated for a couple of months. It was like when you grew, you didn't notice the change until it was drastically different from your memory. So to have her talking frankly and normally with him had been a shock to the system but he had liked it a lot, it meant he got to know her properly.

From then, she was really transforming from a little girl into a young woman so by Sixth year he had noticed her, not as Ron's little sister but as an attractive girl. He realised he had feelings for her and she had for him. It wasn't just a schoolgirl crush on her part either but Sixth year; _she _had gotten to know him and truly liked him for who he was. The time they'd spent together as girlfriend and boyfriend had been so wonderful and his feelings for her hadn't diminished during the long Seventh year. And as far as he was aware, the same went for her.

But she was an innocent ten year old and he was something of a haunted eighteen year old. The old Ginny had experienced Dark Magic like him and so understood him very well. He had been able to open up to her in a way he couldn't imagine doing with just any girl bar Hermione. By the time Ginny reached even her Fourth year, he would be twenty three; would he still develop feelings for a girl so much younger than him? If he did end up going out with her, how could he ever tell her what had happened to him. Ron and Hermione had that advantage, they already knew but any potential partner he had, he would be faced with the agonising decision of whether or not he told them about his life.

"Hmm," he huffed slightly, lying back on his bed. It would probably depend if the secrets he was keeping were affecting his relationship with any girls he might go out with. At least he did have at least a few years to work this out, how many First years went out with someone?

He would always love the Ginny he'd known but he had to start again with her in this life. He would be a friend to her and if it was meant to be, they could easily end up together. But Harry knew he had to accept the fact this might not happen but he tried not to dwell on it. Ginny wouldn't be coming to Hogwarts for a year and as a First year, having a girlfriend wasn't high on his list of priorities.

His train of thought was broken by a grunt from his Aunt and Uncle's bedroom and he suddenly smirked. It had been a rather interesting encounter between his Uncle and Professor McGonagall. Merlin but that was something he'd never ever forget.

Flashback

"_Do you have any other questions?" Professor McGonagall asked Dudley who hesitated before asking._

"_You got dragons at that school?"_

"_I'm afraid not," she replied, taking a sip from a fresh cup of tea. "They are highly dangerous creatures, even the hatchlings can cause serious injury. However, Britain does have two resident dragon species I believe. Welsh Green and the Hebridean Black_

_Harry smiled as his cousin's eyes went wide. He was lucky, or unlucky depending on how you looked at it, enough to have encountered several dragon species. During one of their letter exchanges, Ron had mentioned that he believed the dragon they'd ridden out of Gringotts was a Ukrainian Ironbelly, the largest dragon species there was. Harry was amazed the goblins had put such a ferocious dragon down there but then again that was the point._

_He idly wondered if Hermione would start campaigning to free all the dragons locked away underground and frankly abused. Actually, he had a feeling that Ron would support her in this as Ron did have a hidden passion for magical creatures. It had been rather suppressed after all those unpleasant encounters with Hagrid's pets but Ron had made the most effort with Norberta. Well, it was something else to discuss anyway._

_With a little subtle encouragement, Harry had gotten Dudley to ask Professor McGonagall several questions about the magical world. Harry had started it off by mentioning things that Dudley would be more or less familiar with from Muggle myths and fairy tales. Harry suspected she'd often done this with Muggleborn families, assuring the relatives of the new Hogwarts student that magic was real and very wonderful._

_It was strange seeing his teacher in a non school environment but it was funny to see how Dudley recognised her as a teacher. And as such, even he had an air of politeness that wasn't normally present but Professor McGonagall had such a no nonsense presence that Dudley couldn't act any other way._

"_Will we ever see any?" Harry now asked, feeling he should contribute especially as Dudley looked so awed. "Dragons I mean?"_

"_Not unless you pursue a career involving magical creatures," she replied knowledgably. "Part of our Ministry's job is ensuring that Muggles do not come across them so most wizards do not even see them. However, there are different reservations all over the world so if you were to travel, there is a good chance you may see some."_

"_Sounds cool," Harry said with a grin. Now there was an idea, he wouldn't mind seeing more of the world, both the Muggle and wizard. _

"_I believe so," his teacher said briskly before asking. "Will your Uncle be home soon?"_

"_Very soon," Harry said, glancing at the clock. "He picks my Aunt up from the supermarket and then comes straight home."_

"_Good, I will return to Hogwarts once he's taken care of," she stated and Harry could have sworn Dudley looked a little disappointed._

"_Have you been doing any reading?" she now inquired of Harry and he nodded._

"_I've read all my books although I'm not sure how much I'll remember," he said wryly although he was pretty sure he would get by. He'd have close to seven years to read and learn them._

"_No matter, as long as you've read the material, it's a good start," she said approvingly. "First years are not expected to be very ahead on the coursework but it never hurts to start early." _

"_Wait until you meet Hermione," Harry thought to himself with a slight smirk. He was sure you didn't get students like Hermione every year._

_Dudley had a slightly glazed expression, clearly he couldn't imagine studying during the holidays for a new school year. Especially when he hadn't even started at that school yet. But Harry was so pleased with how this meeting had gone, right now, it couldn't have gone better. Dudley's tail had been vanished with ease and he'd been interested in what Professor McGonagall had to say. _

_Now it just remained to be seen if Uncle Vernon cooperated. _

"_Diddy," came a sudden voice as the front door opened. "We're home darling."_

"_That's them now, Professor," Harry said softly to Professor McGonagall._

"_Bring them in and I'll deal with the tail," she stated and Harry jumped up to obey._

"_Uncle Vernon," he said as his Uncle came over the threshold, carrying a shopping bag._

"_Boy, go and get the rest of the things out of the car," he ordered as Aunt Petunia started carrying the bags she had through to the kitchen._

"_Alright," Harry said before adding quickly. "There's a teacher from Hogwarts here to see you."_

_There was a shriek and Aunt Petunia dropped her shopping, falling with to the floor with several clangs and crunches. Uncle Vernon almost fell backwards out of the door; he staggered into the doorframe, his face an ugly puce colour. Harry patiently waited a moment before saying._

"_Professor McGonagall is here to get rid of your tail, Uncle Vernon,"_

_Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Aunt Petunia twitch at the name, she obviously recognised it. Quickly, Harry added before his Uncle could say anything._

"_If you let her get rid of it, you won't have to go to hospital. She's already gotten rid of Dudleys."_

"_What!" roared Uncle Vernon, managing to pull himself off the doorframe and stagger over to Harry who held his ground. "You...you invited one of__** them**__ to our house?"_

"_I did," Harry said calmly as Dudley suddenly appeared and said._

"_Dad, you gonna get rid of it, she's waiting?"_

"_I...I...I...," Uncle Vernon spluttered as Professor McGonagall also appeared from the sitting room._

"_I understand you have reservations Mr Dursley," she said briskly, bringing out her wand and making Uncle Vernon flinch violently. "But as your son can attest, it will literally take a second and your pig's tail will be gone. And there will be no mark remaining either in case you are worried about that."_

_Uncle Vernon's face went bright red but he seemed beyond speaking. Aunt Petunia now came over, her eyes worriedly searching Dudley's._

"_Are you alright Didder?" she asked with great concern. "Where you hurt?"_

"_I'm fine," he said with a shrug. "It's gone that tail...didn't hurt at all."_

"_All gone?" she questioned and when Dudley nodded, seemed to pull herself together and turned to Uncle Vernon._

"_Let her do it Vernon," she hissed. "Think how embarrassing it would be to go to hospital, imagine if it got out. If a paper ever got wind of it..."_

End of Flashback

And that of course did it. For all Uncle Vernon's bluster, Aunt Petunia was the one who ruled the household and if she put her foot down, her husband would follow. She was sensible enough to realise that having the tail vanished was considerably less painful and humiliating than having it removed by a surgeon. As awful as having a full grown Witch in their living room, the damage was already done and they might as well take advantage of it.

Professor McGonagall had been eyeing them in a slightly suspicious way but with ridiculously casual ease, she vanished the pig's tail. After Harry had mentioned that he wasn't sure about getting to King's Cross, she said very firmly that if he didn't turn up at Hogwarts, she would come straight back to Privet Drive so of course, the Dursleys had to agree to take him. She then bid everyone goodbye, including Dudley who looked sad that she was going which was still a bit weird.

Once she was away, Harry had taken in all the shopping and put it away before disappearing into his bedroom. It was always best to give his Uncle a bit of space after strange events like that, especially as his Uncle had managed to appear all colours of the rainbow through the encounter. He knew neither of Aunt or Uncle were happy about taking him to King's Cross but he knew they'd use the trip as an excuse to take Dudley out on a day trip.

For Dudley's part, he actually seemed a little sorry to see Harry go although he was looking forward to going to Smeltings. Harry hoped he'd get on alright; he seemed to remember that Dudley had enjoyed his First year. It was only after Third year that the school nurse insisted that he start dieting and Dudley hadn't enjoyed that at all. But it was during his Fourth year that he'd discovered his passion, boxing.

Harry had done his best to subtly to suggest that to Dudley, on the off chance that he managed to get into the sport and lose some weight. But oh well, at least Dudley shouldn't be too horrified to see him next summer. And he'd promised to send some sweets every now and again to his cousin, especially at Christmas.

Harry smiled as he lay on the bed, just a few more hours.

Ron POV

With deep satisfaction, Ron examined the food laid out on the table. One of them was a plate of slightly crispy sausage rolls, a bit fat and misshapen but definitely edible. There was a bowl containing cold pasta mixed with a spicy cheese sauce, chopped ham and onions. Ron had basically made this recipe up but it did taste good so he was happy. He had also made Scotch eggs, BBQ chicken wings and some coleslaw. The other items of his little picnic lunch he had had a lot of help from his mum as he wasn't a proficient cook yet.

With his mum's help, he'd also made caramelised onion and bacon tart, coconut and jam sponge and some homemade pink lemonade. He'd made this all the day before and was now just sorting it out into a hamper basket that his dad had managed to dig out. Fred and George still thought he was crazy but he'd tasted everything he'd made and he knew they were good.

For once, he was going to have something to share with his friends and he was going to enjoy every moment of it. Ginny was a little bemused by what he was doing but she actually seemed interested as well since Ron had said he was going to share this picnic with any friends he made. His little sister was always looking for tips on how to survive Hogwarts and if this worked for Ron, then you could bet she'd be cooking next summer. As for Percy, he saw no harm in it so he had not raised any objections although he still seemed to think that the best way to make friends was to study hard.

"It looks great son," his dad said as he came into the kitchen with a wide smile.

Ron turned round with his own small smile and said.

"Thanks dad, it doesn't look too bad at all."

"I'm impressed you're making an effort son," Arthur Weasley said softly, laying a hand on Ron's shoulder. "I think you'll make a good impression on the Hogwarts Express, food is always a good way to break the ice."

"Yeah?" Ron asked, already knowing that this food would go down well. He wouldn't mind sharing it with others like Neville, Dean and Seamus but he did want to have a proper conversation with his friends first.

"Of course," his dad chuckled. "It's one of the few things that brings up all together, even Percy. Most of the time, we're all scattered across the Burrow except at mealtimes."

Ron nodded, he'd never thought of it that way but it was true. Percy tended to be shut up in his room reading and studying while the twins were either messing about in their room or outside on their brooms. Ginny was a bit more varied, she would spend time her in room but she also liked to play outside, follow her mother about and occasionally visit Luna. Ron had never really seen much of Luan growing up, he hadn't been interested since she was a girl who wasn't interested in Quidditch. He now knew that Ginny also enjoyed sneaking up to ride their brooms but this didn't bother him at all.

As for him, before this summer you would mostly find him outside, playing Quidditch or lazing around. With the exception of Percy, he'd always been trying to get his older brothers attention, especially Bill's. To all the younger Weasleys, even Charlie, Bill had done it all; he'd been Perfect, Head boy, gained Twelve Owls and several Newts and had successfully become a Curse Breaker in the employ of Gringotts Bank. Bill could easily remember their martyr uncles Fabien and Gibeon and he had experienced so much. Of course, Ron knew that one day he would end up with a beautiful woman who had Veela blood, just another feather in his cap.

He frowned slightly; Fleur had met Bill because the Triwizard Tournament had taken place and because Harry was one of the Champions. And when Voldemort had returned, Bill had taken a desk job at Gringotts and had ended up tutoring Fleur who wanted to learn more English. But if they worked to stop Voldemort, would the Tournament still go ahead? Would Harry's name still end up there? Ron doubted that they could just take him down now, they were only in First year after all but still...

It looked like there was another thing to discuss with his friends, could they find a way to introduce his brother to Fleur? His brother and sister in law had been so much in love, they'd worked well together and Ron didn't want to destroy that. Of course, Fleur was still in school so he could hardly do that now but in a few years time, they could do something.

"I'll miss you guys," Ron now said to his dad. "Especially Ginny, will she be okay?"

"It's hard when your older siblings leave for school," Arthur acknowledged. "But this time next year when she's going off to Hogwarts, she won't even remember missing you all."

"I hope so," Ron said seriously. "Would it help if I wrote home?"

"That would be good," his dad said, looking mildly bemused that Ron was acting so considerate. "At least you can tell her which teachers to look out for."

As Ron grinned, his mum came bustling into the room and said.

"Arthur, I hope you're not encouraging disrespect towards his teachers."

"Of course not Molly dear," Arthur said smoothly. "But don't you remember your Herbology teacher at school? You and he did not see eye to eye at all."

"Yes well," his mum said, slightly flustered at her husband's point. "But you got on with him fine and I don't want Ginny to be prejudice against any of her teachers before going."

"I won't say anything really bad mum," Ron assured her quickly. "I'll focus on the good stuff, is that okay?"

"It should be," she admitted as she went to look over his picnic food. "Oh Ronnie, you did such a lovely job, I still can't believe it."

Ron grinned, even though he was eighteen, it was still good to hear honest praise from his parents.

"Have you got everything ready?" Molly asked as she started arranging things into the hamper basket. "We'll be going soon you know."

"Everything's ready," Ron assured her, he'd been having a few sleepless nights recently and had taken to packing all his things as a result. It was funny how that had actually occupied him for several nights. "I've just got to get it downstairs."

"Are you sure?" she persisted, her boys weren't normally this organised, even Percy would end up forgetting something. "Is Scabbers in his cage?"

"Oh yes," Ron said, trying not to sound grim. As a little added insurance concerning that rat, he'd given him some cake laced with sleeping potion. Scabbers normally slept anyway but Ron wanted to make sure he wasn't listening in on their conversation. It hadn't taken proper effect yet but by the time Ron made it to the train, _Scabbers_ should be fast asleep.

"I think he's asleep," Ron said aloud for his parent's sake.

"Well done," Molly said with mild surprise. "I must say, you're so organised Ron, none of your brothers were ever this organised for their First year."

And that comment was enough to light up Ron's face for the rest of the morning.

Hermione's POV

"I still can't believe it," her dad murmured as he buttered his toast. "Our little girl...going off to this magic school...all the way in Scotland."

"Neither can I," Hermione said with a smile as she ate her cereal. "It's going to be so amazing; I can't wait to meet some kids like me."

Her parents exchanged looks, while they had always encouraged her studying and love of books; they had been worried by her lack of friends. There were a couple she got on with alright but they were loners who didn't want to hang out all the time. Coming over to birthdays, the occasional day out, that was fine but not hanging out every afternoon after school like the other kids.

It had been strange, Hermione had met up with this over the summer and they were just how she remembered them. She hadn't wasn't sure what had become of them in later years as she'd lost track of them completely, those last few years at Hogwarts had just been so hectic. Who knows, perhaps she could see them more this year...

"I'm sure you'll make lots of friends, Hermione," her mother now said with a smile. "You will have to write to us every week so we know you're alright."

"I will mum, don't worry," Hermione assured her, wondering what her parents would think of Harry's snowy owl.

Only time would tell.

To be continued.

_Author's note. The next chapter will involve the trio saying goodbye to their families and at long last, meeting up. How does that go? Find out next time, until then._


	10. Chapter 10

_Author's note. It should be noted that Ginny is a little bratty in this chapter but before everyone starts shrieking, try to remember that she's a ten year old girl being left behind for a whole year by her siblings. It's not their fault but it is going to be very tough for her. I can't imagine how my brother felt when I went to Uni, particularly as there's no one his age living nearby. Also, we all get annoyed by things our friends do, it's inevitable when you're close to someone. We don't know when Ginny became friends with Luna but since they lived so close, I figured they at least hung out a bit. Ron never mentioned that he didn't know her but he probably wasn't interested in going with Ginny to hers especially as Luna's not into Quidditch._

_So anyway, I'm pretty sure Ginny would have known Luna for quite a long time but she might not have been very close. Sometimes, people we know where once close but have grown apart, and some people we've known for a long time become closer. I think once Ginny was at Hogwarts and not competing for her brothers' attention, she would have grown a lot closer to Luna. In conclusion, please don't leave me long rants about how much you hate Ginny, we all have moments of grumpy or immatureness. _

_I've had a couple of brainstorms concerning what the trio could get up to in the future which I hope everyone likes but suggestions are always welcome._

_Enjoy and please review._

Hermione's POV

"Soon be there," her dad said softly, they were waiting behind a traffic light.

"Yes," Hermione replied, her stomach churning with butterflies. It was odd but this was very like the first time she'd gone to Hogwarts. Just the fact she was moving far away from her parents for almost a whole year had been a terrifying experience.

"I'll take lots of photos," she added for her parents benefit. "You'll be able to see how well I'm doing."

"That would be good," her mum admitted, she was almost tearful at the idea of Hermione going away.

Crookshanks growled in his wicker basket, he was not impressed with the travelling arrangements at all. Hermione leant over and cooed.

"It's alright Crookshanks, I'll let you out on the train."

In a whisper, she added.

"Remember, you can't attack the rat that Ron has, at least not yet. We'll take care of it, okay."

Crookshanks eyed her with his bright yellow eyes and seemed to understand. She smiled, he was a very clever cat and she knew he'd refrain from attacking Scabbers. She had explained at length about Scabbers to Crookshanks and why he couldn't do anything to the rat because she knew how intelligent her cat really was. Idly, she wondered what her parents would think if they knew how intelligent the orange moggy was.

"Will your cat be okay?" her dad now asked as the car pulled forward. "If you're going to let him out."

"He'll be fine," Hermione assured him. "I'll be in a compartment anyway, with the door closed. Crookshanks can relax on a seat or on my lap if it's full."

"I wonder how many children go to this Hogwarts," her mum wondered aloud.

"Quite a few I'd imagine," her dad replied. "Didn't that Professor McGonagall say it was the only school for magical kids in the whole of Britain? There must be thousands going there."

"I'm not sure," Hermione said slowly, already knowing the answer. "From what I've read, non magic folk far outnumber magical ones so I believe it's less than a thousand at Hogwarts. Maybe...eight hundred or so."

"Hmm, that's not much for a population," her dad said. "And how many of those are...Muggleborn, would you say?"

"A good third at the very least," Hermione said, seeing what her dad was getting at. "The wizard population is really small compared to ours."

"Incredible," her dad murmured. "They must really need Muggleborns to make up their numbers."

"In a way but it is important that I learn to be a witch," Hermione said quickly. "If I didn't learn, my magic could become out of control."

"We know darling," her mum said soothingly. "Just don't forget where you come from."

"I won't, mum," Hermione said solemnly and she promised herself that this time, she wouldn't become distant from her parents. She belonged to two worlds and she would find a way to bridge those worlds, one way or another.

Ron's POV

"What's wrong Ginny?" Ron asked his little sister who was moodily sitting in a squashy armchair.

She shot him a miserable look and said in a slightly whiny voice.

"It's not fair; _I_ want to go to Hogwarts to. Why can't I go?"

"Because you're too young," Ron explained, vaguely remembering how upset she'd been at being left behind. "But it's just a year and then you'll be at Hogwarts."

"I can't wait that long," she wailed, her face a little red with misery. "It's going to be just me here and I'll die of boredom."

"Don't be a silly billy, Ginny," Ron said, employing the phrase he used to call her when he was younger. "There's plenty you can do here...like practicing your flying with our old brooms."

This got her attention, she jerked and her mouth fell open as she stared at him in shock. Ron grinned before saying smugly.

"I know you sneak out to fly when we're busy. I've seen you in the air."

Actaully, none of what he'd just said was a lie but he knew she got a different meaning from his words.

"You're...you're not going to tell mum or dad, are you?" she asked anxiously and he shook his head.

"No...but you can owe me a favour," he told her and she looked relived as she asked.

"What kind of favour?"

"Just a _favour_," Ron replied, flopping down in a chair near her. "I don't know what it'll be though, just something for the future."

She considered this before nodding.

"Okay."

Pleased he'd distracted her, Ron now said.

"Hey, if you get really lonely, you can always visit that Luna Lovegood girl."

This caused Ginny to pull a face.

"What?" Ron asked, a little confused by her reaction. As far as he knew, Ginny and Luna had always gotten on but he'd never really paid attention to the friendship until his fifth year.

"She's weird," Ginny blurted out suddenly. "Ever since her mum died, she's gotten really weird."

"I thought she's always been weird," Ron said, nonplussed.

"She has," Ginny acknowledged. "But she's become obsessed with Nargals, Horn Snorcacks..."

"Err...what?" Ron questioned as he remembered to act like he'd never heard of those things.

"Their imaginary creatures she's made up," his sister replied rather exasperatedly. "She's always going on about them and her dad encourages it. He acts like their real too."

"He's the one who writes that magazine...the Dribbler?" Ron asked.

"Quibbler," Ginny corrected. "And yeah, he does."

Their dad occasionally got an issue; he seemed to find the ludicrous articles amusing. Their mum on the other hand didn't particularly like it; she said it was too full of ridiculous conspiracy theories. Ron had to admit, they both had a point, the articles were funny but it was a little disconcerting that Luna and Xenophilius Lovegood believed every single thing they wrote. But while he didn't especially like Xenophilius Lovegood, Luna's weirdness was part of her charm.

Sure, a lot of the things she believed in were either untrue or didn't exist but that didn't mean they all were. From what Harry had said in passing, Luna had a rather unique perceptive on life that shouldn't just be shot down.

"If her dad believes in this stuff," Ron began slowly. "Then that's probably why she believes it. I mean, when dad tells us that Muggles aren't animals, we believe him right."

"Yeah," Ginny said slowly.

"Well, that's how it works with Luna," Ron explained. "And it's why Death Eater kids tend to grow up nasty, because of the stuff their parents tell them."

During this summer, he'd realised that a lot of the rubbish Malfoy had spouted and the ideas he'd endorsed were mostly due to his dad. When it came down to actually being a Death Eater, Malfoy did not have it in him, he was a gutless worm who wasn't as evil as he claimed to be. Ron still hated him but quite frankly, couldn't be bothered with the bloody git. Dear Merlin, he had to spend another seven years in the same building as the git. In some ways, life was very cruel to him.

"So Luna's weird because of her dad?" Ginny asked slowly.

"Well...partly," Ron said as he hastened to explain. "Kids don't always grow up the way parents want them to; you can get good kids from bad families and vice versa. From what you've told me, Luna's pretty weird all on her own because that's who she is. And well...its harmless isn't it, looking for these creatures?"

"Yeah," Ginny sighed. "It's just...it's annoys me sometimes."

This made Ron snort.

"Ginny, have you forgotten we live with some of the most annoying people on the planet? If Percy's not boring us all, then Fred and George are being obnoxious gits. Mum drives us crazy with chores and homework."

He looked right at her and said.

"Don't let the fact she can probably be as annoying as hell keep you from remaining friends. I bet there are times she can be great fun to be with."

His sister considered this point before shrugging.

"Okay, I'll do my best," she said with a slight huff.

Ron smiled, knowing he wasn't going to get a better answer. Ginny was very stubborn but he suspected boredom and loneliness would drive her to seek out the strange blond girl. It would do Ginny good to have some company during the year she couldn't go to Hogwarts. And it would likely do Luna good to have some company that wasn't her crazy father.

"You do that," he said with a smile.

She still looked a little gloomy so he said.

"Hey, at least you'll get a day out in Diagon Alley with mum, you'll enjoy that."

She made another shrugging motion just as their mum called.

"Ginny dear, are you all ready?"

"Coming mum," Ginny called back, pulling herself up and headed to the kitchen. Ron watched her go a little sadly, he was sorry he couldn't do more for her. Maybe if he tried to write fairly regularly that might help.

He heard a loud thump and knew Fred and George were bringing their cases downstairs. It was something of a miracle that nothing was ever broken. Percy was probably giving his badge another clean, the guy was really obsessed. Ron deliberately ignored the fact he'd been a little silly with his own. He remembered that Percy had done his best to be helpful to the younger years; he just hadn't been so good with the older years. To people like Fred and George, he was a killjoy obsessed with obeying every single rule so they made it a rule to never listen to him.

Ron wondered if being frustrated by this attitude was one reason Percy had become distant. Why he got so close to people like Crouch, Fudge and Umbridge. He wasn't sure but had a feeling Hermione might be able to explain. While she was perfectly capable of breaking rules without any encouragement, she preferred to abide by most of them. She'd surely understand why someone would be obsessed with rule keeping.

Ron considered himself something between Percy/Hermione and the twins. While he didn't stick religiously to rules, he did not make it his mission in life to break most of them. Most of the rules he and his friends had broken had been in aid of a very good cause like defeating Voldemort and helping their friends. It made him wonder how many rules they'd end up breaking this time round. Oh well, at least this time they'd be able to take a few shortcuts.

He got up and stretched, his picnic lunch was carefully packed in his hamper, that rat was locked up, his trunk packed and he'd had breakfast. All he had to do was wait for the others then they'd take the Floo to a chimney near King's Cross and...he'd finally be reunited with Harry and Hermione.

Harry's POV

Harry tried to contain his excitement but it wasn't easy. He sitting in the back with Dudley on their way to King's Cross and he just couldn't wait. At long, long last he'd be back where he belonged along with Ron and Hermione. His Uncle was grumbling in the front and his Aunt looked sour but Harry didn't care. This time around, Dudley wasn't terrified to be in the same car as him meaning he didn't have to put up with flinches or whimpers of fear.

In fact, Dudley just seemed a little bored, he put up with car journeys because of the destination. As Harry had predicted, Dudley was being taken out for the day, to visit sweet and toy shops, going too fast food joints and possibly even the cinema. Harry had only ever been to the cinema when there had been a school trip and he'd certainly never gone after he'd started Hogwarts. It would be quite nice to go there some time with his friends especially as he knew for a fact Ron had never gone in his entire life. Introducing Ron to the world of movies and popcorn would be an interesting experience to say the least.

He hadn't spoken much to Dudley today, not with Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon around, letting their disproval of Harry's trip well known. Harry hadn't been given much breakfast but he didn't care. He had money and the food trolley on the Hogwart's Express called, he would be fine. Although he'd learned to not just scoff a mountain of sweets because unless he had some savoury food, he would be rather hyper for a few days. At the time, he hadn't thought anything about it but as he'd matured and thanks to a lecture from Hermione, realised that gorging on sweets wasn't the best plan.

Not that that was going to stop him from getting a good supply.

"How long?" Dudley whined, he was really getting bored. He might be getting on better with his cousin but he didn't feel comfortable enough to converse with Harry while his parents are about.

"Just five more minutes, darling," Aunt Petunia assured. "We just have to drop _him_ off and then we can go have some fun."

"Okay," Dudley said as Uncle Vernon grumbled.

"Which platform are you using, boy?"

"Platform Nine and Three Quarters," Harry answered properly as Uncle almost swerved in shock.

"Don't be ridiculous boy," he roared ay Harry. "There's no such place."

"There is," Harry assured him. "But you can only reach it through a magical barrier between platform nine and ten."

As Uncle Vernon scoffed, Harry asked calmly.

"Haven't you ever been there Aunt Petunia? With mum?"

He watched as his Aunt stiffened and snapped.

"Never you mind, boy."

Harry just smiled to himself and spotted Dudley giving him and his mother a curious look. So, even Dudley had picked up on just how evasive that answer was. Because he couldn't resist, he asked.

"Do you want to come and see the train, Muggles can go through the barrier to, you know."

"Certainly not," barked Uncle Vernon. "We're dropping you off and that's it boy. You're not our problem until next summer."

"Just asking," Harry said pleasantly and out of the corner of his eye, saw how thoughtful Dudley looked. His cousin wasn't quite brave enough to want to go see the train now but in the future...well, they'd see.

"Well don't," his Aunt snapped back just as they finally pulled into the car park.

Uncle grumpily got out the car and headed for the boot. Harry made to get out too but pause and whispered to Dudley.

"Have a good term Dud."

Dudley glanced at him and mumbled something that sounded like "you too."

Harry quickly got out the car and gratified to see that Uncle Vernon had dumped his truck and Hedwig's cage on a trolley although he didn't look like he was going to wheel it anywhere.

"Thank you, Uncle Vernon," Harry said with a grin. "I'll see you all next summer."

Uncle Vernon scowled, grumbled and waved him away. Harry offered his Aunt and cousin a wave before grabbing hold of the trolley and heading into the station. He did pause as he heard the car start up and pull away, turning to see Dudley watching him as the distance between them rapidly increased. He offered his cousin one last, friendly wave and then the car was gone, swallowed up by traffic. He glanced at the clock and saw that he didn't have much time, only twenty minutes or so to get onto the train.

With a heave, he pushed his trolley forward and headed for the correct platform. For a little eleven year old boy pushing a heavy trolley complete with caged owl, he presented a remarkable confidence to fellow commuters who starred as he walked past. However, he didn't pay attention to any of them baring cursory glances to ensure they weren't a threat. Even after a whole summer of peace, he was still wary for danger and he wondered if that would ever go away.

Just as he reached the platform separating three and four, he heard a very familiar voice.

"...Packed with Muggles of course."

He turned with a grin as a group of red heads trooped towards him. Nearly all of them were absorbed with pushing trolleys or hurrying along but one of them caught his eye. Their face broke into a relived grin and Harry shot him a grin right back. Ron looked just like he remembered so long ago, although he noted with amusement Ron had ensured there was no black smudge on his long nose.

"Come along now," Mrs Weasley said as Harry sneakily followed them. "Now, what's the platform again?"

Ron had told him that Mrs Weasley asked this in order to include whoever wasn't going to Hogwarts. Before his First year, Ron had eagerly answered as his mum had asked this and now it was Ginny's turn.

"Nine and three quarters," came the little girl's abolesant voice and Harry's heart gave a painful twinge. She was so young, so innocent and untouched by any darkness; he was at once happy and sad. How long before she became the vibrant, strong, beautiful girl he'd known?

He watched as Ginny begged to be allowed to go and briskly but gently told she wasn't old enough. Mrs Weasley instructed all of her children, especially the twins to be good and no mischief. Harry tried not to gaze at Fred but it wasn't easy. He was the first 'dead' person Harry had come into contact with and he fought to prevent a lump forming in his throat. Fred was alive, everything was okay, and there was no need to grieve.

He'd done plenty of that this summer.

"Oh, are you a Prefect Percy?" George was now mocking but then Ron spoke.

"We get it, you guys don't like Prefects."

The whole family stared at Ron in mild shock, although it was hard to tell if the twins or Percy was the most shocked. Fred recovered and demanded.

"What's up with you?"

"Just saying," Ron said with a small shrug. "Bill was a Prefect; you didn't rib him for it."

Percy twitched, indicating that he hadn't forgotten this point. Before either twin could hotly retort, Mrs Weasley interrupted.

"That's enough boys. You should all be proud of Percy's achievement and as Ron said, your brother Bill was one too and he became Head boy."

She said this last part rather dreamily, for her; it was still an incredibly proud moment.

"Fine, fine," Fred said, rolling his eyes. "We'll leave perfect Percy the Prefect alone, happy Ron?"

"Pretty happy," Ron quipped with a sly grin as the twins stared at him. Where was this confidence coming from, he was normally so easy to rile up. Almost as easy as Percy.

"Never mind that now, we need to start going through," Mrs Weasley said, shooing the twins towards the barrier and they obeyed, charging for the barrier and disappearing.

"That was very sweet of you Ron," Mrs Weasley sighed, giving him a kiss on the cheek which he only half heatedly squirmed away from.

"Thank you Ron," Percy said in his rather formal way but you could tell he was touched. "I'm going through, mother."

And with that, he was away.

Harry decided that now was as good as any to introduce himself and came forward rather hesitantly.

"Excuse," he asked politely. "How do you..."

He gestured helplessly towards the platform and Mrs Weasley rushed to his rescue.

"You don't know how to get onto the platform, dear?" she asked kindly and as he nodded, said.

"Well not to worry, you just go straight at it and keep going, don't stop. Best do it at a run if you're nervous."

"I'll go with him," Ron piped up. "There's not many Muggles about here."

"Alright, go together," Mrs Weasley said as Ron and Harry lined up, Ginny shooting Harry a curious look. "On you go."

Together, the two boys rushed for the barrier and a moment later were through. They kept wheeling their trolleys just a bit further than they needed to before stopping. Breathing heavily, they stared at each other for a moment before throwing themselves at each. Their tight hug probably only lasted less than a minute but to them, it felt like a lifetime. Emotions coursed through their diminished bodies but they could barely recognise any of them.

And then they broke apart and looked around slightly self consciously.

"Think anyone noticed?" Ron muttered but Harry shook his head, everyone was too busy getting on the train or seeing off loved ones.

"I don't think so," Harry murmured back, "We're safe for now."

"Safe," Ron chuckled. "That feels weird, doesn't it?"

"Yeah," Harry replied as Mrs Weasley and Ginny made their way through.

"I'll go save a compartment," Harry murmured as Mrs Weasley said.

"You got through alright dear?"

"Yes I did, thank you," Harry said warmly. "I'm just going to save a compartment for me and Ron."

"Oh, what a sweet young man," Mrs Weasley exclaimed as Ron resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Some things never changed.

As Harry blushed, after a month of the Dursleys, hearing a compliment embarrassed him a little, Mrs Weasley called.

"Fred...George...come and give a hand."

"We're coming," they chorused as they seemed to appear out of nowhere.

"Help this young man put his trunk on the train and then you can help with Ron's," she ordered as Harry noticed that Ron seemed to have an extra piece of luggage this time round. It looked like a hamper but Mrs Weasley didn't usually have time to make anything except sandwiches for the journey.

"There you go," Fred said, after helping Harry to heave the trunk up, along with Hedwig's cage.

"Thanks," Harry said gratefully, resisting the urge to reveal his scar, he didn't feel like being gawked at yet.

"Better find a compartment while we help ickle Ronniekins," George said with a wink and Harry smiled.

He quickly dragged his trunk away with Hedwig's cage until he came to the end where there was a spare. Just as he was stowing everything away, Ron came puffing in.

"Their all dying to know who you are," he remarked. "Cause me and you are friends so quickly."

"Funny that," Harry laughed as he started to help Ron just as a sudden squeal distracted him.

The boys turned and froze as they spotted a very familiar, bushy haired figure down the corridor. She stared at them for a moment, hands clasped together in joy before charging forward, dodging stray students and throwing herself into their arms. And the two boys hugged Hermione, even tighter than they had done themselves as she half cried with happiness.

The trio was together again.

_Author's note. Hope you all enjoyed that, now the trio are back together, things can get going. How does their train journey go? What's different this time around? Find out next time, until then._


	11. Chapter 11

_Author's note. A lot of people really want Neville to be friends with the trio and he will but he isn't going to make up a quartet. It's just...they are so different, their eighteen/nineteen while he's only eleven. They've gone through so much more so that if they tried to be a quartet, it would quickly become apparent how much closer they are to each other than him. I think that's one reason why Wormtail betrayed his friends, in their early years, they really were a true quartet and the best of friends. But as the years went by, Sirius and James became more talented while Remus was probably very liked for his calm, studious manner. As for Wormtail, he didn't shine in any way, he just ended up becoming a fanboy to his friends and they unintentionally used him that way. So when they left Hogwarts and they weren't the most popular, powerful people any more, he realised that and grew to hate them._

_So I'm afraid for Neville's sake, there does need to be a certain distance between the trio and him but not loads. He just can't really be a best friend to well...adults. They are going to take care of him, don't worry but I hope my reasoning makes sense. _

_On another note, anyone got any idea for Hermione's parents' names? As far as I know, their virtually the only characters who are only known by their surnames. Suggestions would be very welcome as to what they could be called and the blanks will be filled in._

_Enjoy and please._

"I can't believe it," Hermione half sobbed as she clung tightly to her two best friends "You're here, you're alright."

"Course we are," Ron said rather gruffly, blinking rather rapidly. "It'll take more than...going back in time to stop us, you know that."

She made a sound that was a half laugh, half sob. Harry did his best to rub her back, a little afraid she would descend into hysterics but she was made of sterner stuff than that. After giving them another squeeze, she released them and took a step back.

"I...my parents are out on the platform," she said, wiping away at her streaming eyes. "They're waiting for me to find a compartment and then dad's going to bring my trunk and Crookshanks."

"About that cat, Hermione," Ron began and Hermione quickly said.

"He won't touch Scabbers, don't worry."

Ron grinned and said.

"Actually, I was going to ask if I've ever told you what a fine specimen of cat he is."

"Really?" she said in mild disbelief, wondering where he was going with these.

"Sure," Ron replied seriously. "And if that stinking little rat ever tries anything, would your delightful cat might eating him?"

Harry chuckled as comprehension dawned on Hermione's face and she laughed.

"I'm sure he'd be delighted," she replied as Harry said.

"We'd better get going; they'll be wondering what's keeping us."

His two friends nodded and after quickly shoving Ron's trunk, hamper and cage containing Scabbers in, they hurried back out onto the platform. They quickly spotted Mrs Weasley and co thanks to their flaming red hair but the real spot of luck was that Hermione's parents were only a few feet away.

"Mum...dad," Hermione called, waving as Ron called to his mum as he jumped off the train.

"Hermione, have you found a compartment?" her mum asked, hurrying over with a wicker basket containing a grumpy looking Crookshanks.

"Yes, these guys said I could share theirs," Hermione replied as Mrs Weasley came bustling.

"Ron, you're sharing with this young lady?" she asked and he nodded causing her to beam.

"Oh, that's very sweet of you Ronnie," she sighed as his ears turned red.

"Oh, you already have some children going?" Mrs Granger asked as she spotted Fred and George heading over, with Percy bringing up the rear.

"Oh yes, we've been going for generations," Mrs Weasley said kindly. "I take it this is your first?"

"Oh yes," Mrs Granger said with a serious nod. "We couldn't believe it when we found our Hermione was going."

"Hermione, what a lovely name," Mrs Weasley sighed. "This is my little girl, Ginny."

Ginny blushed furiously at this and mumbled a greeting but Mrs Granger just beamed at her. Dr Granger now said.

"And who are these find strapping lads?"

"Well, this is my oldest Percy, who's a Prefect," Mrs Weasley introduced proudly as Percy held out a hand to the twins eye rolls. "And these are my fourth and fifth oldest, Fred and George."

The twins bowed dramatically as Mrs Granger said faintly.

"You have more?"

"Yes, my two oldest Bill and Charlie have already left Hogwarts," Mrs Weasley stated proudly as the Grangers stared. With only a single child, meeting someone with seven was a little overwhelming.

"And this is my youngest son Ron, who I think your daughter's already met," Mrs Weasley finished and Ron smiled nervously.

"And this is Harry, mum, dad," Hermione introduced as Harry also smiled rather self consciously.

"Are you a wizard, Harry?" Dr Granger asked and Harry said.

"Yeah, my parents were but my mum was Muggleborn and I grew up with her family so I know what a TV is while Ron doesn't."

"I do, it's Muggle box thing," Ron defended making the adults chuckle.

"So you're here by yourself?" Mrs Weasley said sympathetically. "Well don't worry, I'm sure Ron will look after you and tell you all you need to know."

"I will," Ron said slyly, making Harry struggle not to grin.

"Oh, I haven't introduced myself, Molly Weasley," Mrs Weasley hastened to say as people started boarding the train.

"Richard and Helen Granger," Hermione's dad introduced. "I hope all our kids can be good friends."

"I'm sure they will," Molly agreed as she gave the twins rather stern looks as they gave her innocent ones.

"As a Prefect, its part of my duties to make sure they are coping," Percy spoke up. "Especially if they're in my House of Gryffindor, then they will be my personal responsibility."

"Of course, if Ron ends up in Slytherin," Fred said slyly but Ron only said.

"We'll see which House I'm in."

"We will," George added with a wide grin as Mrs Weasley said.

"I'm sorry to rush everyone but you'd better get on the train, it'll be leaving any minute now."

"If you're not busy, we could always go for a drink," she offered the Grangers who accepted; they clearly wanted to know more about the wizarding world from a mother's perspective.

"Goodbye mum, dad," Hermione murmured as she hugged them tightly while Mrs Weasley bestowed hugs and kisses on her children. Harry was about to step onto the train when he was swept into a hug by Mrs Weasley.

Only a small part of him was embarrassed, the rest drank it all in, it felt so safe...so familiar. Ron's mother had always been one for hugging him and he'd grown to love those hugs. That didn't stop him from being a little shy as he hugged her back as she said.

"You take care dear, I know First year is very scary but you'll do fine."

"Thanks Mrs Weasley," Harry said gratefully as she released him.

"On you get everyone," she ordered and the boys and girl, rushed onto the train.

"Bye," Ginny called, waving her hands enthusiastically as they leaned out the window.

Seeing her tears, Fred called out.

"Don't worry Ginny, we'll send you a Hogwart's toilet seat, how does that sound?"

"Fred!" Mrs Weasley shrieked as the train started to pull away.

"Only joking mum," George happily called back as Percy groaned.

There was a chorus of goodbyes as the train pulled away, the three adults waving merrily while Ginny tried to run alongside the train until it picked up too much speed and she was lost in the smoke and steam. The little group pulled back from the window, feeling strange at leaving their families behind but very much looking forward to their destination.

"I must go to the Prefect's compartment," Percy announced, turning to the trio. "If you have any problem, you can come and find me."

"Thank you," Hermione said graciously, making the older boy smile as he saw she actually meant it.

"We're gonna find Lee, we've heard he's got a new pet," Fred piped up, ruffling Ron's hair before dashing away as Ron swiped at him.

"See you later First years," George called as they left.

"Gits," Ron said fondly as they headed into their compartment. "How long before they try to trick me into going near that bloody spider?"

"Not long," Harry predicated as they settled on their seats, after dragging Hermione's trunk inside.

"There you go Crookshanks," Hermione cooed, allowing the ginger cat out and he promptly took a seat of his own and settled down, eyeing a small cat with a fat rat sleeping inside.

"Don't worry about him," Ron said quickly as they all stared at the Death Eater in disguise. "I feed him porridge with a mild sleeping potion, he should sleep all the way."

"But just in case," Harry murmured, casting Mufliato so that even if the rat did awake, he wouldn't be able to hear them.

"Will he suspect?" Hermione asked but Ron shook his head.

"Nah, I complained that it would be just my luck if this useless rat decided to up and run away so I wanted to make sure he didn't. You know Fred and George would never let me hear the end of it and he knows them well."

"That's a relief," Hermione said, leaning back in her seat. "I've been worried about him all summer."

"He's too cowardly to try anything unless he thinks he's cornered," Harry said knowingly. "If Ron just acts like he hates having a useless rat, he won't be bothered. Just as long as he gets fed and stuff."

"Yeah but how long to we have to wait to get rid of him?" Ron had to ask. "I don't know how much longer I can stand looking after that bastard."

"Not too long, we just need a convincing way to discover him," Harry assured his best friend. "Now, there's no way we could have found out he was Pettigrew unless someone told us he was or he showed himself but that isn't going to happen."

They paused, considering the problem and then Ron slowly said.

"Hey...what about the Marauder's Map? Wouldn't he show up on that?"

As Harry looked interested, Hermione shook his head.

"I don't' think so Ron."

"Why not, he did for Lupin," Harry asked but Hermione said.

"Yes he did and yet all those years Fred and George used the map, they never once spotted a Peter Pettigrew in your dorm? Or somehow hanging around with us and yet never showing up in real life?"

The boys considered this for a moment that was a bloody good point.

"So how come he showed up for Lupin?" Ron demanded. "How come none of us ever spotted him?"

"I could be wrong," Hermione said, fiddling with a strand of bushy hair. "But maybe because Wormtail was one of the makers of the Map...he knew how to disguise his presence on it. We've no idea what he saw as a rat; he might have seen the twins with it and recognised it. Then he could have...I don't know, altered it so that it only ever showed Scabbers the Rat or nothing at all."

"But Remus was also a maker," Harry now added. "So maybe, if a Marauders uses that Map...it cancels out any enchantment placed upon it."

"Makes sense," Ron said with a shrug. "And I bet Wormtail never thought Remus would get his hands on it."

"Or he didn't know that another Marauder could do that," Hermione suggested. "It could be a side effect of all the enchantments placed upon it...and they created this in school, they might not have realised just all it could do."

"That can happen," Ron confirmed. "Remember dad's car? It became wild and developed a sort of mind of its own; it saved us without us even asking it to."

As Hermione nodded, Harry said wryly.

"So it looks like the Map's out, especially as Fred and George still have it and aren't due to give me it until Third year."

"We could nick it off them," Ron suggested. "But maybe we could save that for later."

"So we need another, convincing way to discover him," Harry stated as an idea hit him. "Hey, what about that spell Remus and Sirius used, to test whether he was an Animagus?"

"That could work," Ron said excitedly, pleased at the prospect of getting rid of the rat.

"But why would we be casting a spell like that?" Hermione pointed out. "I don't even think a First year would be able to cast one, they'd ask questions."

"Unless someone who _should_ be able to cast one did," Ron said with a widening grin. "Like...McGonagall, she could easily cast that."

"But why would she?" Hermione pointed out but Ron had an answer.

"We know she's going to show us her cat form. What if we make out we're really, really interested in that and get her after class with questions. She'll tell us it takes years and stuff but one of us could say something like it's a really good disguise and how do we know there isn't Animagi everywhere. She mentions the spell and we ask for a demonstration and I'll handily have that rat. She transforms him and he's caught."

"Ron, that...that sounds perfect," Hermione exclaimed. "And if anyone can react and catch him, it would be Professor McGonagall."

"And for safety, we can have Crookshanks standing by outside," Harry added, he liked that idea a lot. "And one of us could always scream and whack that rat over the head; it would make sense to do that."

They all grinned, that was one problem solved and it made them feel a lot better. A noise made them glance to the door of their compartment but someone was just passing it. Harry sank back in relief and Ron said knowingly.

"No one knows Harry Potter's on this train yet."

"No and I'm hoping it'll stay that way," Harry sighed. "All the way up to the feast with any luck."

"Well, at least we won't have to deal with Malfoy," Ron pointed out happily. "He won't come looking for us if everyone isn't talking about you being on the train."

"Don't jinx it," warned Harry. "It would be just my luck if he did come and he might...his father will be on the lookout for me arriving at Hogwarts and he'll know this is the year I'm meant to start. He might have sent dear old Draco looking for me."

"Don't say that," groaned Ron. "I was hoping for a train ride without him."

Harry laughed before growing serious.

"Listen, I've been thinking about him," he began as his two friends looked at him. "And honestly, I really can't be bothered dealing with him again, can you?"

"I'd rather not," Hermione said softly as Ron shook his head.

"Well, I think when we do meet him, we need to avoid picking a fight with him," Harry explained. "I know he's a git and a bigot but if we avoid rubbing him up the wrong way first time, we may avoid seven years of him bugging us."

"I'd better not open my mouth," Ron said rather dryly. "I'm bound to say something to spoil it all."

No one disagreed, when it came to people like Malfoy, Ron was rarely ever to hold his silence.

"We'll manage," Hermione said reassuringly. "Just remember that we're of age and he's just an eleven year old boy, it's hardly worth getting into an argument with him."

As the boys nodded, Ron couldn't help but ask.

"What about people like Snape? How are we going to avoid getting into an argument with him?"

"I think we need to make a really good first impression," Harry said softly. "Hermione...could you avoid always answering his questions? If he directly asks, you should answer but I think it really annoyed him that no one else ever bothered. We all know your brilliant, Snape did too but you know how fickle he was."

Hermione sighed heavily but she couldn't fault Harry's logic.

"I'll do my best but you guys should try to answer some questions. Not a lot but since you do know more than our year, you should do a few."

"Okay," Harry chuckled. "In return for you not always answering questions, we'll answer a few."

"It's weird," Ron commented upon as he idly scratched Crookshank's ear. "I did look over my books and...It's bloody easy. I know practically all of it."

"Of course, you're a Newt's student," Hermione pointed out. "I would hope that First year stuff would be easy for you."

"Yeah but it's still weird," Ron said in wonder before saying slyly. "Looks like I won't have to copy from you anymore."

"Something I'm looking forward to," she said dryly. "But we'll have to be careful our essays aren't too good."

"It's going to be hard pretending to be real First years," Harry sighed, pushing his fringe away from his eyes. He took out his wand and with a simply wave, levitated Crookshank's empty basket, letting it float to the ceiling.

"We've already mastered all the First year spells and beyond," he murmured as the others watched.

"Well, I've got a new wand so I'd be better anyway," Ron pointed out, bringing his wand out, pointing it at Scabbers and turning the rat bright yellow. "But yeah, this is too easy. How do we pretend we're having trouble with stuff when it's so easy?"

"I think we won't to a certain extent," Hermione said softly. "I think we have to accept the fact we will be the best in our year and some of the years above. Which is why we should focus our energies on magic that's at our level, we need to keep ourselves stimulated when our classes can't."

She now quirked a smile and said.

"At least Potions should be a breeze."

"Pah, Snape will find a way to make it hard," Ron stated firmly as he looked at Harry. "But speaking of Snape...what was all that about him fancying your mum and stuff?"

Harry smiled very wryly.

"Those memories he gave me, I viewed them in Dumbledore's Pensieve. He knew mum before Hogwarts, he was her neighbour and introduced her to magic."

"He did?" Ron exclaimed in shock as Hermione stared. "Well, why the bloody hell didn't he tell you that?"

"Because he hated my dad," Harry said softly. "Because he won mum's heart, he took the one thing Snape wanted. Although it was also to maintain his role as spy, he could never allow himself to like me in the slightest. He also convinced himself that I was literally a clone of my dad but he still would have given his life for me...well, he did."

He quickly explained what he'd seen, how Snape had always loved Lily, how they'd been best friends, how they'd come into conflict with the Marauders, how they'd grown apart until that fateful day when their friendship broke. And how he'd already seen that memory but not known what it had truly meant.

"I knew there was another reason you stopped those lessons," Hermione couldn't help but exclaim and Harry nodded.

"Yeah, well, that was it, Snape was hopping mad that I'd seen that memory and I understand why. I thought it was just because he was humiliated but it was when he lost mum. From what Sirius and Remus told me, dad slowly became less of a jerk and she grew to like him while Snape got more into the Dark Arts."

He paused and then said.

"When I had his book...I did like the guy who'd written that book, I felt like I knew them. But you could tell he was getting darker, his spells getting more violent but because I liked him, I didn't see it until it was too late. I think...that's how it was for mum, she really liked him but he was just getting too mixed up with the Dark Arts. They just reached a point where they couldn't be friends unless one of them changed."

"It must have been really awful for him," Hermione said softly. "He had a difficult home, he was bullied and unpopular, Slytherin was a bad environment and he was interested in a dangerous subject. He bought into the power Voldemort promised but at the same time he wanted Lily...and it could never work."

"And he only realised that when it was too late," Harry finished softly. "He came to Dumbledore and begged to be allowed a chance to save mum when he realised he had inadvertently sighed her death warrant. In return, Dumbledore demanded his eternal loyalty and a promise to protect _all_ the Potters."

"And when your mum died...?" Ron said slowly.

"He was devastated," Harry said softly, remembering Snape's tears of grief. "But Dumbledore told him that above all else, mum would've wanted me to live. So Snape swore to protect me no matter that. That didn't mean liking me though."

He added this part rather wryly.

"And...it was this promise that meant he had to stay in school?" Ron asked and when he received a nod, groaned.

"Bloody Voldemort," he muttered. "It's thanks to him we had to put up with Snape for seven years."

"He is truly evil," Hermione said teasingly. "But I can barely believe he pulled it off. All those years and he kept everyone guessing but Dumbledore."

"It is something," Harry agreed. "And we've got to keep his secret...and that means learning Occlumency."

"How can we learn that?" Ron questioned and Harry said dryly.

"By indulging in Hermione's favourite school time activity."

They stared at him before realising what he meant.

"Oh, you mean the library," Ron said with a groan as Hermione looked interested.

"Yep," Harry said with a grin. "What I think we need to do is present a normal First year mind to anyone who might be looking and hide our real minds behind a wall of some sort. The good news is that apart from Snape and Quirrel, we don't really need to worry about anyone looking. There is Dumbledore but we won't be in as regular contact with him like the others."

"So Snape's been reading our minds all these years?" Ron said, sounding very outraged.

"Not exactly," Harry said with a small smile. "It mostly means he can tell if we're lying or not but I think anything else he does see, he's not allowed to use. He always has to find other evidence but basically, avoid having an eye staring contest with him."

This made his friends smile, Harry had always engaged in this contest with Snape and it obviously had backfired every time. Harry continued.

"There's bound to be books on the subject and if we're discreet, we can learn what we need and put it into practice. No one would think First years would ever be interested in something like that so we do that that advantage. I'm afraid we'll have to wait until Christmas for my Invisibility Cloak but we can manage without it."

"It's going to be weird not having it until then," Ron stated just as their door was opened.

"Anything off the trolley, dears?" the kindly trolley lady asked them.

Just as Harry stood up to buy some things, Ron quickly said.

"Hey Harry, just get sweets."

As Harry gave him an odd look, Ron said with a grin. "Trust me."

With a shrug, Harry bought a large number of sweets, enough to last them the whole trip. As he dumped his purchases on a free seat, Ron said.

"I've already got us some lunch."

Grinning at their curious looks, he grabbed the hamper basket and set it on the ground between them, carefully opening it up. Harry and Hermione gasped as they beheld just what was inside, sausage rolls, pasta, a tart and lemonade. And this was only what they could see on top.

"I thought you're mum was too busy for this?" Hermione exclaimed.

"She is...that's why I made it," Ron stated proudly.

"You...you made all this?" Hermione couldn't help but say in disbelief, last time she'd checked; Ron didn't know the first thing about producing any sort of food whatsoever.

"Yeah well," Ron said, his ears going red as he fiddled with the strap of the hamper. "It's just...I know I was a major git at the times on that trip, especially about food. It wasn't fair of me to moan when you were doing all the cooking Hermine and Harry the foraging. So I thought...this might make up for it and if, Merlin forbid, we find ourselves on another camping trip, I'll be able to contribute."

They both stared at Ron and then Hermione moved and kissed him on the cheek. As Ron's face flamed a rather deep shade of red, she said softly.

"Ron, I think that's one of the sweetest, sensitive things you've ever done and I couldn't be more proud."

"Well...I thought it would make you happy," mumbled Ron, still red but looking pleased.

Harry grinned, at least he wouldn't have deal with these two dancing around each other for seven years. Glancing over at Scabbers cage where the fat rat was still snoozing and noting he was still yellow, said.

"Guys...do you fancy playing a little joke on the twins?"

Ten minutes later, Ron stuck his head in the compartment his brothers were sharing with Lee Jordan and some others in their year.

"What do you want Ron?" Fred demanded, not terribly pleased to see his little brother.

"I just wanted to thank you," Ron said brightly, beaming. "For that cool spell you gave me."

"Which one?" George asked in confusion, not remembering giving Ron a spell that he'd enjoy.

"The one to turn Scabbers yellow," Ron said, pulling out the unconscious _yellow_ rat and brandishing it inside for all to say. "I guess you could say, it worked like a charm."

"But...," Fred said in complete astonishment. "That was a dub."

"A dud?" Ron laughed as he stowed Scabbers back in his pocket. "Don't be silly, let me show you."

Bringing out his wand, he said dramatically.

"Sunshine daisies, butter mellow...turn my silly brothers _yellow!"_

There was a flash of light, a yelp and everyone was left gawking at the twins whose skin had turned a bright shade of yellow. With their flaming red hair, they appeared to be glowing with fire. Before any of them could react, Ron gave them a little wave and said.

"See you at the feast."

And tore away with his friends, laughing all the way back to their compartment.

_Author's note. Hermione's parents are called blank at the moment because I need those names. The best ones will replace blank so be sure to suggest something. I know both Grangers are doctors but it's easier to call Hermione's mum Mrs. otherwise it'll get a little confusing which Granger I'm referring too._

_Just to be clear, Harry and co are not about to turn into the next generation of Marauders but they will enjoy a little joke every now and again._


	12. Chapter 12

_Author's note. Phew, you would not believe how many reviews I got suggesting Dan and Emma/Jean for the Grangers. However, I also got a lot asking that I not use Dan and Emma so you'll be happy to know I'm not just because Dan and Emma don't appeal to me. Nothing wrong with the names, they just don't feel right. The second most common set was Richard and Helen and actually, they feel right to me. Nice ordinary names which suit the Grangers very well. _

_It should be noted that while I'm doing my best to keep everyone in characters, the two characters I have the most trouble writing are Luna and Snape. Luna is difficult partly because of how unique she is but also because fan fiction has rather ruined her either by making her a prophet, slut or a weirdo that makes everyone uncomfortable. She's a tricky one to write so I'm sorry if I mess her up._

_As for Snape, because I love him as a character so much, I'm not good at doing his evil, cruelly sarcastic personality, I always end up making him strict but sort of caring which I know isn't canon. So to help me get in the right frame of mind for him, would everyone like to give me some Snape worthy phrases? I don't mean quotes from the books, just things you think Snape is likely to say with plenty of sarcastic snark through in._

_On another note, I've just joined Pottermore and I was sorted into Hufflepuff. Ironically, my school had four houses with the same colours and the yellow one always came first. My house, the red one was always second. Enjoying Pottermore a lot although Ron Weasley would like to point out Galleons are not to be found so easily lying around. ;)_

_If you've already played Pottermore, I messed up the polyjuice potion when that dratted bottle spilled into the Cauldron. I can't restock as you've got to find these ingredients but I've already collected them, how can I solve this? Also, how do you get into Snape's office, someone said go back to the 'third moment' any idea what this is? Thanks._

_Enjoy and please review._

They could not stop laughing as they ran back to their compartment; the looks on the twins' faces had just been priceless. Ron in particular had a rather gleeful look on his face as they collapsed into their seats, causing Crookshanks to give them a curious look as Scabbers slept on.

"That was bloody brilliant," Ron declared, wiping tears of laughter away.

"They're going to get you back for that," Harry reminded him with a chuckle but Ron waved that away.

"They'd get me whether I did anything or not. This way, they might actually show me a bit of respect."

His smile faded a little as he said.

"They've always had a go at me."

"Why is that?" Hermione said with a frown. "And what about Percy?"

Ron chuckled rather grimly.

"Percy might be easy to wind up and be stuffy to boot but he's two years older than them. As much as they don't like to admit it, he'd got more magical experience and knowledge than them so if they try anything, he doesn't find it difficult to counter it. As for Bill, well, they wouldn't dare try anything behind beetles in his soup; he's a curse breaker for Merlin's sake. Charlie wrestles dragons for a living so he's a match for them and Ginny's mum precious baby. Trust me; if they tried half the things they have with me with her, they wouldn't be able to walk by the time mum finished with them."

He looked out of the window rather moodily.

"But I'm two years younger and a boy so I'm free range for them, especially Fred. Sometimes I don't know what his problem was."

Hermione sat beside him and put her arm around him.

"I'm sure he wasn't being deliberately malicious but as you said, you had a disadvantage being a lot younger. Plus, he always had George to back him up. I suppose me and Harry can't really understand since we don't have any siblings, and Harry's cousin doesn't really count."

"Yeah," Ron mumbled before saying in a rush. "But I don't want him to die...I'd die if he died...again...you know..."

"We know," Hermione said soothingly. "He might be as you say, a git but he's your brother and you still love him. He and George get a lot better once they've got their joke shop to focus on."

As Ron nodded, Harry added.

"And don't forget, you're a lot older than him and you've got a few tricks up your sleeve. You can handle anything they throw at you."

Ron half smiled before saying.

"What about their Joke shop? I mean, we don't know if you're going to be in the Tri-Wizard Tournament or anything."

"We'll find a way," Harry assured him. "At the very least, I think Sirius would be interested in helping to found their business. Probably give him something to focus on."

"Yeah," Ron said with a sigh, he wanted his brothers' dream to succeed even if they did delight in tormenting him at times.

With a slight shake, he said briskly.

"So...it'll be great to be back in Hogwarts, won't it?"

"It'll be wonderful," Hermione agreed with a happy sigh. "We'll see everyone again, all our friends, the teachers, everything."

"It'll be brilliant," Harry said with a nod. "Although we'll need to avoid Quirrel, we can't risk Voldemort seeing what we are."

His friends nodded as Ron said.

"It'll be weird getting Sorted again, won't it?"

Hermione and Harry nodded as Hermione said slowly.

"You know it's funny...if we wanted to, we could probably be put in a new House."

"What?" exclaimed Ron in surprise, he hadn't thought of this at all.

"It's true," Harry said. "The Sorting Hat takes our choices into account, if you're desperate to go somewhere, it'll put you there."

"But why would you want to go to a different House?" Ron persisted, he couldn't imagine being anywhere but Gryffindor.

"We're not saying we don't want to go to Gryffindor," Hermione said quickly. "It's just...interesting that we could go to another House. We would have a new circle of friends for one, wouldn't we? A new dormitory, a new Head of House, it opens a lot of possibilities."

Ron frowned at this before grimacing.

"Urgh, imagine having Snape as your Head, he'd be a nightmare."

"Would he though," Harry mused. "We all know he favours his students and if we were his students, chances are he wouldn't hate us. And we'd have an opportunity to convince Slytherins they don't have to follow Voldemort."

"You'd have to deal with Malfoy," Ron pointed out.

"That would be...trying," Harry acknowledged. "But you know, we never really had much to do with some of the other Slytherins, some of them might be alright. We could help them realise they don't have to be enemies with every Gryffindor they come across."

"Suppose so," Ron said before smiling. "But there's no way I could ever be Slytherin, even if I was cunning and stuff, you can bet me and Malfoy would just argue all the time. Not to mention my brothers would never let me hear the end of it."

"Good point," Harry chuckled.

"Well, I can definitely see you in Ravenclaw," Ron said to Hermione who smiled and said.

"I think you could go as well."

"Me?" Ron exclaimed in great surprise. "But I'm not brainy."

"Compared to the others in our year, you are," Hermione reminded him with a smile. "You are intelligent Ron, you always have been but now you have a distinct advantage, you won't struggle at all with the coursework so you would do just fine in Ravenclaw."

Ron considered this thoughtfully before shaking.

"I don't think Ravenclaw's for me...they just...they like to study way too much, I wouldn't fit in. I know they're not all obsessed with studying and stuff but I just wouldn't be able to get into it. And if any of them get wind of the fact I know more than I should, all they'll want me to do is study or tutor people."

"That's fair enough," Hermione said with a nod. "We're just discussing what it would be like to be in different Houses."

"Yeah," Harry said, it had been something he'd pondered over during the summer. "In a way, I could see myself in Slytherin and maybe even Hermione too."

"Hermione's Muggleborn," Ron pointed out as Hermione herself said.

"But there are Muggleborns in Slytherin, they just keep their heads down a lot. And from what I've read, it's only during times of Pureblood mania that you get less Muggleborns there. I think the Sorting Hat could put those who truly belong in Slytherin so as to protect the others."

"But you could show that not all Slytherins are evil," Harry said slowly. "You're the best in our year and kind; it could help change their image."

"Yes but I don't know if I can ever get on with Pansy and some of the other girls," Hermione said wistfully. "I've managed to make friends with most of the girls in our years, even a couple of the Slytherin girls but most of them couldn't stand me. I think I'd rather be in another House."

"You'd want Ravenclaw for that," Ron stated wisely. "The Slytherins look down on Hufflepuffs and hate Gryffindors but I have noticed a lot of them make friends with Ravenclaws. I heard they share a couple of classes and they respect Ravens for their smarts even if they think their boring at times. I even heard Snape tolerates the Ravens out of the three Houses the most."

`"That is a good point," Hermione said. "And in a way, our advanced knowledge would in some way be easier to hide and it wouldn't be difficult to make friends with other Houses. We could even look after Luna; make sure she wasn't bullied so badly."

Harry had confessed this to his friends in Sixth year, to help them understand the girl better. He liked Luna a lot and wanted her to have more allies in Hogwarts and when he saw that mural on her bedroom ceiling; he'd seen it had worked.

As everyone thought on the issue of Houses, Ron spoke somewhat hesitantly.

"I...this might sounds stupid but...I don't want to be separated from you guys."

He continued quickly as they looked at him.

"I know I could maybe go into another House but...Gryffindor's my home, my House and I don't want to leave it. I know you guys would be great in the other Houses, you're both loyal and kind as anything, and you'd make great Badgers. But...maybe I'm wrong but if we're all separated, won't that make things harder? You know, trying to change things, think how much harder it'll be to meet up and talk?"

This made his friends pause and give this serious thought. Seeing that they weren't adding anything, Ron continued.

"If you guys went to Ravenclaw and I went to Gryffindor, we'd barely be able to see each other. We only share classes with the Badgers and Snakes, they rotate these things every year. We're only really allowed to sit at our House tables and we're not meant to visit each other's Dormitories."

"I'm...I'm not trying to force you guys to stay with me," he said hurriedly, worried they might think he was holding them back or something. "But it would make hanging out next to impossible and planning...I think we do need to be together for that, otherwise it won't work."

There was a pause and then Harry said.

"I think you're right Ron, we do need to be together, not just because of planning but because we're a team. You guys are my best friends and I don't want to be separated from you. I've been thinking about how we can change things and if we split up...who knows what might be changed. Things have already changed and we've barely started, it'll all get out of control if we change stuff we don't' need to."

"And I think it's time Gryffindor reached out to the other Houses, especially Slytherin," Hermione now said. "Ravenclaw is already friends with Slytherin, we don't really need to do anything there. We need to try and reunite Slytherin and Gryffindor, they were once best friends. We can start with our year mates and maybe...as time goes on, we can influence the younger years so that they don't have to hate each other."

"We can reach out to everyone," Harry said softly. "It's not going to be easy but we've got a good chance I think. We know the Badgers aren't stupid, especially Cedric..."

His voice trailed away slightly as he remembered he'd be seeing the kind boy again. Probably the most innocent of all the beings he'd seen die and he was alive and whole. Harry had to swallow heavily before clearing his throat and continuing.

"And the Ravens aren't all obsessed with studying and as for the Snakes; I know they're not all evil. Hell, most of them definitely aren't, only a few individuals just like there's probably some in the other Houses. We know that and we can help others see that, show them that Gryffindors aren't just brave idiots."

He was a little flushed as he said this; just the thought was working him up a bit.

"We can make a real difference; show that not everyone's a stereotype, that people can share the traits of more than one House."

"We can," Hermione said firmly and even though they still resided in barely teenage bodies, somehow it felt like they were back in their old adult bodies. Just the sheer conviction and determination that these three had was enough to create this strange illusion. A moment later, it was broken as Ron said.

"So...Gryffindor then?"

"Gryffindor," Harry and Hermione agreed.

"Thank Merlin," Ron sighed. "Oliver would kill you if you weren't in Gryffindor, Harry."

"He probably would," Harry agreed as he laughed. He did wonder, if he had headed for Slytherin, how many people would have refused to even consider being friends with him. Would even the Weasley twins turn their backs?

"I'm straved," Ron suddenly declared. "Can we eat lunch?"

"Some things never change," Hermione giggled but she was giving the hamper a rather hungry look so it was all in jest.

Sometime later, they were all enjoying their lunch. Both Harry and Hermione were very impressed and told Ron that he seemed to have inherited his mother's talent with food with made the boy blush with pride. While it was always nice to gorge a little on the trolley food, having a proper meal was even better. The homemade strawberry lemonade was particularly welcome as the long train journey always made them thirsty.

Just as they were more than half way through, their compartment door opened to reveal a small plump and rather tearful boy.

"Sorry to bother you," he mumbled. "Has anyone seen a toad?"

"Oh," exclaimed Hermione, somehow managing to stop herself from blurting out the boy's name. "Have you lost your toad?"

"Yeah," Neville said miserably. "He keeps getting away."

"Have you tried asking a Prefect to summon him?" Hermione asked but Neville shook his head.

"No, they just say they haven't seen him."

"Do you want a help looking for him?" Hermione asked kindly as Neville shyly nodded.

"I'll be back in a bit," she said to the two boys who nodded.

"I'm Ron," Ron managed to say as Hermione got up as Harry also introduced himself.

"Neville," Neville mumbled as Hermione joined him in the corridor.

"Wow," Ron said as the compartment door closed. "I've forgotten what Neville used to be like."

"Same here," Harry repeated almost faintly, was this really the boy who'd publically defied Voldemort before decapitating Nagini?

"It's weird," Ron said quietly. "That he could have been the Chosen one, If Voldemort had made a different choice."

Harry nodded; he'd dealt a long time on this. It was probably something he'd never know, why had Voldemort chosen him? Why hadn't he simply gone for both boys, just to be safe? Maybe Voldemort didn't even know, not fully, he was just the type who got an idea into his head and went for it, no matter what.

Ron idly levitated a spare sausage roll into his mouth, chewing in a rather thoughtful way.

"Neville doesn't have his own wand," he said thickly, still chewing. "It's his dad's wand."

"Yeah," Harry agreed, remembering when Neville broke it and how upset he'd been. Well, he'd been mostly worried about upsetting his Gran but it appeared that breaking it while fighting off several Death Eaters was acceptable. Neville had been allowed to get his very own wand and his magical skills had definitely improved.

Part of this was because his confidence had grown but a new wand did play a huge factor in being able to finally cope with his schoolwork. He even managed Defence against the Dark Arts just fine, despite who was teaching. Harry had practically forgotten that bumbling, forgetful boy Neville had been in their younger years but he was uncomfortably reminded now.

Unlike the others who'd simply grown in their ability, Neville had basically leapt suddenly into it. Harry did wonder how things would be different now for Neville.

"Think Hermione will be able to find Trevor?" he asked Ron who nodded.

"Probably, I bet she'll summon him when Neville's not looking or something."

Harry agreed as he helped himself to a bit more pasta, he found he really loved it.

"We need to tell him he's not useless," he said firmly. "He was always convinced he couldn't do anything, even when he was good at things."

"He won't believe us," Ron sighed. "Remember we tried to convince him before? He's been told by his Gran and other mad relatives that he can never measure up to his parents so he's convinced that's true. Especially as he's not instantly great at stuff, it just convinces him even more."

Harry smiled ruefully.

"Guess we have to try harder."

Turning more serious, he said.

"I think little things can make a difference, for instance, one of us should try to partner him in Potions so that Snape doesn't get mad. Encourage him in Charms and Herbology, he was always good at those and give him help in Transfiguration. As for History, well, we all need help for that."

Both of them laughed how true that was.

"Okay," Ron said with a grin. "Maybe we could set up something similar to the DA?"

"Don't tell Hermione," Harry couldn't resist saying. "You know what happen if we suggest this."

"Oh I do," Ron said with a nod just as Hermione entered.

"I found his toad," she said breathlessly. "But I had to walk him back to his compartment; it's almost at the other end of the train. He's with Ernie, Hannah, Fay a couple of others."

"He's in good company then," Harry said, relieved Neville was sitting with very good natured people.

She nodded, taking her seat and bending over to help herself to some more lunch. Harry spotted Ron's wide grin and knew he was happy Hermione liked the food so much. He'd so wanted to please her and he certainly had.

"I'm just heading to the loo," he told his friends before leaving the compartment.

"Chocolate frog?" Ron offered to Hermione who shook her head.

"Not when I've still got this?" she explained, indicating her slice of tart. "I can't eat sweet before savoury."

Ron just shrugged, biting the head of his frog and examining the card. It was one he hadn't found until he was thirteen so he was pleased to make a good start to his collection. Now that he was alone with Hermione, he felt he should say something to her. But just as he started opening his mouth, the compartment door opened.

It wasn't Harry.

"Have any of you seen Harry Potter?" the blond boy, flanked by two massive bodyguards drawled.

They had finally bumped into Draco Malfoy.

_Author's note. How does the encounter go? What happens when they reach Hogwarts? Find out next time, until then._


	13. Chapter 13

_Author's note. Thanks to all those who helped me with Pottermore, I've got it better figured out now and I finally completed the Polyjuice Potion, that took several tries. And a big thanks to Pottermore its self for including all that nice background history, especially for the Malfoys, it was great._

_Remember, any Snape snark sayings would be very welcome._

_Enjoy and please review._

Ron and Hermione stared in surprise at Draco Malfoy who stood there with his two goons. Thankfully, as Malfoy essentially turned up every single train ride, they were able to recover their wits pretty quickly.

"You know Harry?" Hermione asked curiously and Malfoy immediately looked hopeful.

"No but I heard he was meant to be starting Hogwarts this year so I wanted to meet him. Where is he?"

"He's gone to the loo," Ron spoke up, mentally groaning at the sight of the smug blond boy. "He'll be back in a minute probably."

"Then I'll wait," Malfoy stated pompously stepping into the compartment along with Crabbe and Goyle.

Ron and Hermione exchanged a quick look before Hermione said.

"So, this is your First year too?"

"Yes," Malfoy replied in a rather bored tone, he clearly didn't think Ron or Hermione were worth his notice. "About time as well, father thinks it's a crime we can't learn sooner."

Ron quickly ate a jelly snake, trying not to twitch and react to the mention of 'my father'. It had been one of his top peeves when it came to Malfoy, that constantly boasting of his father did this, his father thinks that, argh.

Trying to smile and be polite, Hermione offered a bad of Bertie Botts every flavour beans.

"Bean?" she asked and Crabbe and Goyle instantly plunged their hands into the bag, an impressive feat considering the size of their hands and withdrew with a handful of random beans.

"No thank you," Malfoy said with a sniff and Hermione withdrew the now half empty bag.

Before the silence could stretch into awkward, Harry suddenly appeared at the door.

"Oh," he said in surprise, seeing just who was in his compartment.

Malfoy turned and his eyes widened in mild surprise as he saw who it was.

"You're Harry Potter?" he exclaimed in disbelief.

"Er, yeah," Harry said with a small smile, knowing he didn't exactly look like the savour of the wizard world in his baggy clothes and glasses. "I'm Harry, what's your name?"

"Draco Malfoy," Malfoy said, drawing himself up proudly. "And this is Crabbe and Goyle."

"Pleased to meet you," Harry said, musing that Malfoy had never introduced his bodyguards by their first name the first time round either. "These are my friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger."

"Weasley?" Malfoy drawled with a slight sneer as Ron rolled his eyes. Here it came.

"My father's told me all about them, they all have red hair, hand me downs and more children than they can afford."

"So?" Harry questioned, wishing Malfoy wasn't such a git. "Does that matter?"

"Of course it does," Malfoy said as though it was obvious.

"Oh," Harry said with more patience than he was feeling. "I'm not sure why having red hair is a bad thing."

"Well...it isn't," Malfoy had to concede, he couldn't really state a logical argument against that.

"And as for having too many children, well, not everyone can be rich," Harry pointed out. "It probably makes things harder but not impossible. And if a couple really want a big family, surely there's no reason why they shouldn't do that."

"Yes...well," Malfoy tried to say, the conversation wasn't going the way he'd hoped. "It's not really that, they're Blood Traitors."

"What are Blood Traitors?" Harry asked curiously but it was Ron who answered.

"It means we're okay with Muggles," he said lazily, enjoying how flustered Malfoy looked. "We don't look down on them and we can marry them, Muggleborns and Halfbloods, no problem."

"Why's that a bad thing?" Harry now asked Malfoy who said.

"Because Pureblood wizards are superior and should only marry other Purebloods, otherwise, the magic can become tainted."

"Did you say your name was Malfoy?" Hermione questioned, earning an annoyed look and a curt "Yes."

"I've been doing some reading about the wizarding world," she began, seeing Malfoy's sneer at the obvious hint that she was Muggleborn. "And aren't the Malfoy's a very long, distinguished and successful line?"

"Why yes, we are," Malfoy said, very proudly as he drew himself up.

"Well, isn't that partly because the Malfoys are more sensible than most other Purebloods families," she continued and as Malfoy nodded, a little bemused by her point, she added. "They've avoided the horrible habit of letting their choice of partners get so small, they've been forced to marry their own cousins."

As everyone, even Crabbe and Goyle gaped at her, she said.

"Many Pureblood families have devolved either health problems or mental instability because they insist on only ever marrying Pureblood. As a result, many families have either fallen into ruin or died out. The Malfoys has historically abhorred inbreeding and have taken the more sensible route of marrying Pure and Half bloods. I also read that before the Statue of Secrecy, the Malfoy family was part of rich and royal Muggle society, one called Lucius Malfoy even proposed marriage to Elizabeth the First."

As Malfoy gaped in complete astonishment at her, Ron said.

"Really?"

"Oh yes, it's all there in Wizard genealogy and various history books," Hermione said confidently, making Harry realise she must have garnered more knowledge from the Black library than they'd previously suspected. "Although I'm not sure how widely known that is."

"What...what book did you get that from?" Malfoy demanded and Hermione answered.

"Nature's Nobility: A Wizarding Genealogy was one...a very...uh...fascinating read. It mentioned some of old lines where the women married into the Malfoy family. There was also 'Proud and Pure: Ancient Wizard Lineage', that gave quite a comprehensive account of different wizarding families."

"Wow," Harry stated, that was certainly interesting.

"Anyway," Hermione finished. "Your own family, Draco, proves that not just associating with Purebloods is a good thing. After all, those Half Bloods either had a Muggle or Muggleborn parent."

Malfoy opened and closed his mouth several times, he was beyond stunned. No doubt Lucius and Narcissa had always skimmed over this part of Malfoy family history. And possibly, they hadn't had a Halfblood in the family for a few generations so it was easy to pretend they'd only ever married Purebloods. Trying to prevent a wide grin breaking out all over his face, Harry said genially.

"Well, I think that's cleared that up quite well."

He turned to a flabbergasted Malfoy and said.

"I don't know if your family has a history with Ron's but surely that doesn't mean we can't all be friends."

And he held out his hand for Malfoy to shake which he did. Harry then shook Crabbe and Goyle's hands although they were still staring at him. Ron and Hermione jumped up and also shook everyone's hands as Malfoy tried to regain his composure.

"But...but," Malfoy stammered, he was clearly at a complete loss of what to say.

"Why don't you have a bag of beans?" Ron suggested, placing the bag in Malfoy's hands as Hermione said.

"I can easily look up more information if you want."

"Really nice to meet you guys hope we can all be friends," Harry added cheerfully. "I think now would be a good time for us to get changed and clear up a bit, we'll see each other at the Feast."

The trio of soon to be Slytherins eagerly took this polite offering to leave and hurried away, not even saying goodbye. Ron sat back in his chair with a heavy sigh and said.

"Well, at least that's over."

"It went better than I expected," Hermione stated in a considering way. "I don't think I've ever seen him struck dumb like that."

"No but it was good," chuckled Harry before asking. "Was that really true about the Malfoy family?"

"It was," Hermione said with a nod. "I read all about it when we were away on the trip but things kept happening which meant I never got the chance to tell you. It's strange considering their beliefs but it does in part explain their success. The Weasley family must have some Halfbloods at least in their tree to have stayed healthy as well."

This made Ron nod.

"No one recent though," he stated. "Those who have married into the family have been New Purebloods, you know, ones who have been Pureblood for several generations but didn't start out that way."

"You learn something new every day," Harry quipped. "Well, I've no idea if this will make a difference in our relationship with Malfoy but at least we tried. With any luck he might avoid us just so we don't startle him like that again."

"Now wouldn't that be good," Ron sighed dreamily. "Malfoy completely and utterly avoiding us, never bugging us about how rich and important his father is."

"We can hope," Hermione said as she started to clear up the sweets a little, placing them in the hamper so that they'd be safe. "By the way Ron, I think you behaved very maturely with Malfoiy, despite his snooty attitude."

Ron shrugged.

"No bloody point in arguing with an eleven year old ferret," he stated. "Anyway, you can bet I'll probably end up saying something to him later on, he won't be shell shocked forever."

"Just do your best to ignore him," Hermione said soothingly as Harry opened his trunk.

"We probably should get dressed," he said as he began taking out his school robes. "Then we can relax and discuss anything else of importance."

They nodded and after they'd gotten their own robes out, Hermione went to the ladies while the boys closed the blinds so they could change. Half an hour later, they were reclined in their seats with Crookshanks purring on Hermione's lap while Harry levitated Hedwig a couple of owl treats.

"You don't have to wave your wand for every little thing," Ron pointed out, doing an impersonation of his mother.

"I don't but this saves me getting up," Harry replied smartly, making them all laugh.

"We won't be able to do that so casually once we reach Hogwarts," Hermione said sorrowfully. "At the moment, we should only really be able to shoot sparks out of our wands and maybe a couple of extremely simple spells."

"I'm sure we'll live," Harry said encouragingly. "We can still practise in secret and stuff. And at least when things get going, we'll be able to do more magic openly even if it's pretty basic stuff."

They nodded; it would be easier than the summer when they hadn't been able to do any magic at all. Ron now said.

"When can we get rid of that rat again?"

"Close to Halloween," Hermione said. "That way it'll be enough time for us to _'settle in'_ and start asking questions and it's not that long away that you have to put up with that rat."

"Sounds good," Ron said, stretching slightly before something dawned on his face.

"Hey...what about the troll?"

"Oh yeah," Harry said as he remembered this. "Quirrel's going to let the troll in as a diversion."

"But we don't need to interfere, do we?" Hermione said anxiously. "I mean, I was the only one not at the feast and that's obviously not going to happen now. Quirrel won't get at that Stone; he was just testing the defences."

"Yeah but Snape gets his leg badly bitten," Harry said with a grimace. "I don't suppose we could somehow block that door before the feast to stop anyone getting in?"

"We could research it," Hermione suggested. "The only problem is that Quirrel would probably try another night, one where people are wandering about."

"Well, we need to take him down before he gets to Hagrid," Harry said firmly. "After Occlumency, that's what we've got to research, banishing one soul from another's body."

"Quirrel probably worked a bit like a Horcrux," Hermione said thoughtfully. "Not quite as Voldemort was able to escape his dying body but it's similar. Possibly, you'd need to trick Voldemort into thinking Quirrel was dying; he would be forced to leave so that he didn't perish as well."

"And then make sure he didn't latch onto anyone else," Harry added grimly. "I think you're right Quirrel was never an actual Horcrux but we'll need to research to be sure."

"It's a shame Professor Dumbledore removed those books on Horcruxes," Hermione sighed, lightly stroking Crookshank's smooth fur as he was demanding some attention. "I do like being able to reference things."

"Well, there's a chance Sirius's home might have something," Harry suggested. "If we could get to the library before anyone else..."

"What about Kreacher?" Ron pointed out. "He wouldn't be happy with us messing around with Black family heirlooms."

"I'm hoping he'll be on our side by then," Harry said softly. "If Sirius would only give us permission to take a look, we could offer to clean it up or something."

"I don't think he'll let three First years loose in that house," Ron disagreed. "And neither will mum if she's got anything to say about it."

"If we had adult supervision," Hermione suggested. "To turn that place into a real home for Sirius, we could grab whatever books we wanted and take care of that locket. We can help Kreacher and encourage him and Sirius to get on. You can do that Harry; Sirius would do anything for you."

"I can try," Harry said with a slight grimace, he wasn't sure if he'd be able to convince Sirius of this. Sirius had despised his childhood home and Kreacher and had never made much effort with either. However, maybe being proved innocent and being a free man would mean he was more likely to make an effort.

"It could become a really lovely home," Hermione said encouragingly. "Remember how it looked once Kreacher started making an effort? You could get rid of the entire horrible dark decor and turn it into a beautiful safe home. It has so much potential if you could only convince Sirius of that."

Harry nodded; maybe he could persuade Sirius to design his own dream home. Since he'd be proved innocent, he could easily go out and buy things for his house and since right now it wouldn't be Headquarters, they could do whatever they wanted with it. Harry did think it would be a good idea to keep it with all its protections as you never knew when you'd been a safe house. Hopefully, it wouldn't be difficult to convince Sirius of this.

"I can't wait to see Sirius," Harry now said with a smile. "I wonder if I could spend Christmas with him."

"I think it depends," Hermione couldn't help but say. "Where is Sirius going to stay once he's out of Azkaban? His house is a mess and I know he had a flat once but that's probably been sold by now."

Ron opened his mouth and then closed it. Harry noticed and said.

"What's up?"

"Well, I had a thought but it's probably stupid," Ron said, his ears going a little red.

"Ron, you know we won't laugh," Hermione told him gently. "And I'm sure whatever it is, it's not stupid."

"Well...," Ron said slowly. "This is just an idea but...with me and my brothers gone, the house is pretty empty and mum doesn't have much to do. I mean, she still cooks and cleans, teaches Ginny a bit of schoolwork and stuff but I think she gets bored. And since we're gone, there are loads of free bedrooms."

"Are you saying Sirius could stay at the Burrow?" Hermione asked in surprise.

"Yeah," Ron said with a nod. "Mum could look after him, feed him up and stuff and he wouldn't be alone. It would also distract Ginny a bit and Sirius could just relax and recover while we send him letters about Hogwarts. Um...what do you think?"

There was a pause and then Harry grinned.

"Brilliant Ron."

"Really?" Ron said in relief, he wasn't sure how his idea would be met. "Uh, Sirius and mum did argue a bit..."

"But they shouldn't this time," Hermione pointed out. "At the moment, everything's fine, we're just at school like normal children and there's nothing for them to worry about. Your mother was worried about us being involved in a War while Sirius believed we needed to be prepared to fight and they clashed. But now they can both relax and as you said Ron, enjoy hearing about how we're all doing at school. Your parents and Ginny can regale him with tales of Fred and George's antics, things like that."

As Ron smiled, Harry added.

"And I think Sirius needs a mother," he said softly. "And a father too. He never had that growing up and I know he had my grandparents for a bit but their gone. He might be thirty one or whatever but he needs someone to take care of him since I can't really. I know there's Remus but he's ill so often that he needs looking after as well."

"Mum won't complain if Remus visits," Ron said with a smile. "Although...has that Wolfsbane Potion been invented yet?"

"Just under two years ago," Hermione stated softly. "But it's extremely advanced and dangerous if you get it wrong. What a shame Professor Snape couldn't brew it for Professor Lupin."

"Just have to find a way to persuade him to," was Harry's answer, knowing that could easily be their most difficult challenge.

"We'll leave that for now," Hermione suggested. "I had an idea for something that would be good for us to learn."

"What's that?" Ron asked, carefully opening a chocolate frog and watching as it hopped about the seat.

"Healing," she said with a small smile. "Even if it's just small cuts and things, it would be really good to know."

"Funny, I was thinking that before the trip," Harry laughed. "I cut myself on a broken cup and started thinking 'I should probably have learned this before now.' We should definitely research that."

Ron nodded, he'd had enough damn injuries to last a lifetime and you could bet he'd get some more before the school year was over. Never mind Voldemort, Fred and George would probably be out for revenge against his little joke and it would probably be painful.

"Okay, I think we've got a good plan for the first half of this year," Harry said in satisfaction. "We'll just take our time and see how this week goes, that sound alright?"

"Yep," Ron agreed as Hermione nodded.

"Anyone want a game of Exploding Snap, Bertie Botts style?" Ron asked, making Harry grin and Hermione smile.

Exploding Snap, Bertie Botts style meant that every time you lost a game of Exploding Snap, you had to eat a bean the winner gave you. Even if you recognised this bean as one that was very disgusting or just a flavour you didn't like, you still had to eat it. Since Bertie Botts were such a lottery of flavours, if you kept losing, you could easily end up with bean after bean of horrible flavours.

"Here's a new bag," Hermione said, bringing one out from the hamper as Ron took out his slightly battered pack of cards.

For the next hour, as the country grew wilder and wilder, the trio played their game, enjoying doing something fun and completely normal. No one else visited their compartment; everyone was very settled in their own compartments and weren't prepared to start wandering the train. The sweet trolley came back to their area of the train and Harry bought some more sweets but the non perishable ones. It was always nice to have a packet of sweets lying around your section of the dorm.

Naturally, he split this up between his friends although Hermione only wanted a couple of packets of whizzing whizzbees, she still preferred not to constantly gorge on too much sugar. Ron happily accepted several different packs of sweets and these were packed away so they wouldn't be nibbled on during the remaining journey.

"We'll soon be there," Hermione said sometime later, glancing outside at the dark countryside. "I...I can barely wait."

She sounded both excited and nervous at the same time and Harry knew why. This was their test, could they do all they wanted to do and still appear as normal First years to everyone? Harry knew it was unlikely to work out how they wanted it to but he still felt they had a good chance at making a difference.

"Nearly there," Ron stated as the train began to slow down half an hour later. "We'd better get our trunks ready."

They made sure everything was packed up, which included putting Crookshanks back in his basket to the cat's extreme annoyance. The train was slowly down even more so they stepped out into the corridor which many others were doing as well. Finally, the train came to a screeching halt and the doors all opened, allowing students to disembark onto the platform.

"Firs' years! Firs' years over here! All right there, Harry?"

"Hello Hagrid," Harry greeted with a wide grin, it was so good to see Hagrid there, waiting for the First years.

Hagrid beamed at him before hollering.

"C'mon, follow me — any more firs' years? Mind yer step, now! Firs' years follow me!"

They all followed Hagrid, joining a gaggle of their peers as they descended a long narrow path until they came to a stony boat where a small fleet of boats were waiting for them. Everyone stopped, gasping as they gazed at the magnificent sight of the castle which stood atop a high ridge, lights glittering in every single window or so it seemed. The trio smiled as the saw Hogwarts fully restored to its former glory, completely un-ravaged by any war.

"Alright," Hagrid now said. "Four to a boat, in yer go."

"Trevor...no," Neville cried as his toad did a gigantic leap out of his master's hands and making for the shore.

"I got him," Ron shouted, scooping up the toad just before he reached the water.

"Thank you," Neville said in relief, taking Trevor back. "I couldn't leave him with my stuff, he'd run off."

He sounded so utterly miserable that Harry said.

"Do you want to join our boat, Neville?"

"How did you know my name?" Neville exclaimed and Harry pointed to Hermione who waved as she climbed into a boat.

"Oh," Neville said with a huge blush but he still came into the boat with them.

"Everyone set?" Hagrid asked before roaring. "Right, we're off."

With a jolt, all the boats set off, moving completely independently and causing a lot of squeals from various excitable children. Hagrid was in the lead boat and because of his size; no one else had joined him. The night was clear with only a light breeze meaning the water only rippled with the passage of their boats. Harry thought he saw a tentacle break the surface but it was gone before he could focus on it.

Hermione was wringing her hands, she was really nervous now. Ron noticed and took one of the hands, giving it a squeeze while blushing furiously. She shot him a very grateful smile which made him go even redder. Harry hid his own grin, watching as Neville gazed in awe at the castle, not realising that Trevor was slowly slipping out of his hands.

"Watch out for Trevor," he hissed and Neville squeaked before taking a better grip on the gloomy.

"Thanks," the young boy said gratefully, he really didn't want to lose his beloved toad.

"No problem," Harry said as Hagrid called for them to duck the ivy covered stone archway.

The boats bumped into stone docks and everyone scrambled out. Hagrid led them up the stairs until he reached a heavy wooden door which he banged on twice. And it was opened by a stern looking woman with a tall witch's hat. She surveyed them all before saying.

"Welcome to Hogwarts."

_Author's note. I know the sweet trolley is never mentioned returning but if you've ever been on a train journey that lasts at least an hour, there's always a trolley that comes round at least once so I hope you'll forgive me this little bit of fanon._


	14. Chapter 14

_Author's note. Can I ask that if anyone has any critic, that they make it constructive? Don't just swear and rant that I'm not listening, explain to me calmly how I could make my story better if I'm making a mistake (like using the word softly too often). Although if you've reached this chapter, chances are you like it but please be calm and sensible when leaving me a review. I got a couple of flames from the same person; they wanted nasty bratty Harry and called my story a couple of names for not doing this. This isn't clever and frankly, I'll just do the complete opposite of any flames I get so it's within everyone's interest to be polite. _

_Obviously, 99.9% of my readers enjoy this story and if there's anything not working for them, they've told me politely but just in case I've done something that's really upset someone. Just try to explain it to me in a polite way and it might be something I can change. Some things I can't, like making Harry a brat but there are improvements I can make. Thanks anyway to all those who left __**Constructive**__ reviews._

_I've changed the canon speech a little, just so everyone isn't bored by hearing it again, hope this is okay. I based McGonagall's tartan on a picture I found but if it's wrong, feel free to tell me. Trying to keep this flowing, I know some people feel this has been a bit slow but I'm trying to do this as naturally as possible._

_Don't forget, I'm still looking for Snape snark, he is just master of the cutting comments._

_Enjoy and please review._

"The First years, Professor McGonagall," Hagrid said respectively and she nodded.

"Thank you Hagrid, follow me everyone."

The all trooped after her, Hagrid someone managing to melt away to the Great Hall, and taken to a side chamber. Professor McGonagall then turned and regarded them sternly but not unkindly although you could only really tell this if you knew her. Harry remembered being a little terrified of her, she just looked so no nonsense and very likely to squash any mischief. She was wearing her usual emerald green robes with the McGonagall tartan sash of pink, purple and light brown.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," she began what sounded like a well rehearsed speech. "Our start of term banquet will begin very shortly but first, there are a few things you should know. Firstly, before you can join the feast, you must be sorted into your Houses. The Sorting ceremony is extremely important as your House will be something like your family when you are here at Hogwarts."

This made Harry smile, recalling how true this had been for him. Even when times were bad, Gryffindor had always been family and home to him. This wasn't quite the same for Ron and Hermione, they both had families who were alive and who loved them.

"You will attend classes with your fellow Housemates, sleep in your House dormitory and be able to spend your free time in your House Common Room. The four Houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each House has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your House points, while any rule breaking will lose House points."

The trio thought of all the points they had won and lost, was it a record?

"At the end of the school year, the House with the most points is awarded the House cup, a great honour. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever House becomes yours."

Many students stood a little straighter at this, mainly those who already had a House in mind. The other students just looked overwhelmed by all of this, even those who had already known about Houses. Hermione fidgeted slightly, she really wanted to comfort the other First years and assure them they had nothing to worry about. As far as they were aware, all of their year had been happy with their allocated House.

"The Sorting ceremony will begin momentarily, until then you must wait in this room and perhaps take the opportunity to smarten yourselves up a bit."

She didn't look at Ron because he didn't have a smudged nose this time round. Poor Neville was fidgeting as his cloak wasn't very neat but Professor McGonagall never purposely stared at a single student. Harry automatically had a go at flattening his hair, he didn't relish the prospect of all those eyes staring at him, which for them would be the very first and definitely not the last time.

As Hermione smoothed down her robes, Professor McGonagall said.

"I shall return when we are ready for you, please wait quietly."

When she was gone, everyone relaxed and started murmuring among themselves.

"This is weird," Ron muttered to Harry. "Bloody déjà vu."

"I know what you mean," Harry murmured back. "Didn't George say we had to do a painful test or something?"

"Nah, it was Fred," Ron said as Hermione stepped a little closer to them. "He said we'd have to wrestle a troll."

"Well, he was telling the truth," she teased in a low voice so no one would hear. "We did end up wrestling a troll."

"Heckling more like," Ron disagreed with a grin. "Harry's the only one that had a go at tackling it."

"And that's something I have no intention of repeating," Harry stated firmly just as the ghosts appeared, making nearly everyone scream.

The trio of course, barely noticed even as the ghosts loudly argued about Peeves. Harry had told the others of the Grey Lady's and Bloody Baron's history during their exchange of letters. They had been amazed by the story, it was a true tragedy full of betrayal and regret. At least there was one Horcrux they could easily retrieve although destroying it would be another matter. They weren't too worried, they would find a way and were satisfied that no one would discover that Horcrux.

"Hope to see you in Hufflepuff!" the Friar was just saying. "My old house, you know."

"Come along now," came Professor McGonagall as she suddenly appeared back in the room. "The Sorting Ceremony is about to start."

"Here we go," Ron said with a harsh sigh, he was nervous of the Sorting. What if the Sorting Hat insisted on splitting them up?

"Yep," was all Harry said as they formed a line under Professor's McGonagall's instruction.

Harry had placed himself in front, feeling that he should brave the Great Hall first with Hermione behind him and Ron behind her. As one, all the First year followed Professor McGonagall into the dazzling Great Hall, lit up by hundreds of gently floating candles. Harry remembered being nervous of dripping wax but despite the fact hot wax did run down their sides, they never dropped onto the heads of students. They just seemed to pool at the bases, spreading like a ripple of water.

They were lead between two long tables which each had a long table on their other side. Each table was laid with beautifully glittering gold goblets and plates and students hungrily waited on benches for the Sorting ceremony to be over and the feast to start. Harry stared straight ahead; he wanted to be just another First year for as long as possible. The ghosts were now hovering all over the place, casting misty silver glows over the nearby students.

Overhead, the ceiling revealed a velvety sky dotted with bright silver stars which shimmered slightly as he watched. He quickly focused on the person in front of him, no point in stumbling around like an idiot. As they reached the end of the tables and formed a huddle in front of the staff table where all the staff sat watching them carefully. Before they could focus on anyone, Professor McGonagall suddenly appeared with a four legged stool that she placed on the ground before placing on that a ratty, rather dirty looking hat.

Harry had always wondered why no one bothered to clean it.

_"__Oh, you may not think I'm pretty," _the hat began after a slit appeared near the brim.

The trio smiled as they listened to the merry song, a sharp contrast to the ones they'd heard in their last couple of years at Hogwarts. They couldn't even imagine how grim the one during their Seventh year must have been. The song extolled the virtues of the different Houses and each House cheered when theirs was mentioned. When the Sorting Hat finally finished, everyone cheered and clapped, causing the ragged hat to bow before becoming completely still.

"When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted," Professor McGonagall now said. "Abbott, Hannah!"

The scene played out as Harry remembered it, Professor McGonagall would call out a name, the student would stumble tremulously onto the stool before the hat was placed on their head. After either a moment's pause or a few minutes deliberation, the hat would call out the name of their House. No one went to a different House meaning there were no surprises until it was finally Hermione's turn.

"Granger, Hermione."

"Good luck," Harry murmured as Hermione stepped forwards and headed for the hat.

Harry and Ron couldn't hear what the hat was saying to their friend but it was certainly different from the usual conversations that hat had with students.

"_Well, well, what's this? According to your memory, we've met before Miss Granger."_

"_Yes, we have,"_ Hermione thought back nervously.

"_Interesting, I've never met a student who has gone back to their First year body before. And...what this? There are more of you?"_

"_Just two more,"_ Hermione assured him. _"And_ _we all know where we want to go."_

"_Gryffindor, same as the first time," _the Hat mused. _"Well, while I am glad you liked my choice first time, there are the other Houses to chose from. Many times, I'm forced to Sort students into a certain House merely because their family went there but they could have done better in a different House."_

"_I know,"_ Hermione agreed. _"I can imagine that happening but I think in this case, you made the right choice. I know that we could all do well in the other Houses but we really feel like Gryffindor is the best choice. You'll be able to talk to the others but could you please put me where I want?"_

"_If you're sure you know what you're doing," _the Hat cautioned before saying. _"But you are most definitely brave and bold; you will be a credit to your House...__**again!"**_

"**Gryffindor!" **was the cry that echoed through the Great Hall and the Gryffindors started cheering as the Hat was plucked from Hermione's head so that she could run to the Gryffindor table.

"Thank bloody Merlin," Ron said with relief; he'd be worried the Sorting Hat would insist on putting her in Ravenclaw.

They watched as their fellows students were Sorted including poor Neville who tripped on the way there and then ran to the Gryffindor table still wearing the Hat. Then there was Draco Malfoy who swaggered over to the Hat and was Sorted almost instantly. He seemed to have regained his confidence although he still shot Harry and Ron a calculating look. Or at least, he hoped he did, to the Newt's students, it just looked a little silly.

More students were Sorted, there was more clapping and the number of First years in the huddle steadily dwindled. Harry tried not to grimace, in a few moments his identity would be revealed and everyone would start pointing and whispering. He'd really enjoyed being just another person, not somebody famous but at least he could deal with it better this time round. He wouldn't have to deal with that strange sick feeling when people acted weird around him, which had been the worst bit about being 'famous.'

"Look out, it's almost you," Ron muttered and Harry saw he was right, Sally-Ann Perks was currently being Sorted and he was right after her.

"**Ravenclaw!" **the Hat shouted and as Sally-Ann hurried to her new House, Professor McGonagall called out the next name.

"Potter, Harry."

Sharing a brief glance with Ron, Harry stepped forward as excited whispers broke out.

_"Potter,_ did she say?"

_"The_ Harry Potter?"

"_Yes, it's him,"_ Harry thought rather sarcastically even though he knew they didn't mean any harm. That didn't mean he couldn't be a little annoyed about it.

"_Ah, your one of those others Miss Granger spoke,"_ the Hat instantly said as soon as it went over his eyes. _"Interesting, very interesting."_

"_Well, that's better than being difficult,"_ Harry thought wryly and he heard the Hat chuckle.

"_You're still difficult in a way Mr Potter, if you didn't have a definite House in mind, I might have had a lot of trouble Sorting you. You would still do well in Slytherin, you know."_

"_I know,"_ Harry thought, this time without fear or being offended. _"But I still think Gryffindor's the right choice, although I did give Slytherin some serious thought. But how many Slytherins could pull that sword out?"_

"_Ah, so you know my little secret,"_ chuckled the Hat. _"Yes, if I do say so, that was one of Godric Gryffindor's more brilliant ideas. It has only appeared a few times before in the past."_

"_It appeared to a couple of others,"_ Harry thought quietly. _"Me and Neville."_

"_Ah yes, Mr Longbottom, he was an interesting Sort. Poor boy was convinced he wouldn't go anywhere but I could have easily placed him in Hufflepuff, he's a very loyal boy. But I could within the extraordinary potential to become something great even though he didn't believe me. But I can well understand how he would manage to pull the sword out, he does posses great bravery that will show its self when it is most greatly needed."_

"_I know," _Harry thought, remembering all those times Neville's true brave self had shown forth. _"And we'll look after him, help him see what he really is."_

"_That would be good, the poor boy needs someone to tell him that,"_ the Hat stated sorrowfully. _"But I sense there's something you want me to do."_

"_Yeah,"_ Harry chuckled. _"Could you not tell Professor Dumbledore what you saw? This is something we need to do on our own, at least for now. I know he has our best interests at heart but it would be better if he was kept in the dark for the moment."_

"_I can see why,"_ the Hat agreed. "_Very well Mr Potter, I shall do as you ask as I can see you want to do much good, including bringing the Houses together. Just don't forget to ask for help if you truly need it."_

And Harry knew the Hat wasn't just meaning telling Professor Dumbledore if things got out of hand, he also meant the sword.

"_I'll do it, don't worry,"_ he assured the Hat who whispered back.

"_Good luck Mr Potter."_

"**Gryffindor!"**

As the hat came off his head, he could see people had been staring at him, no doubt wondering what was taking so long. There was a pause and then the Gryffindor table burst into cheers and Hagrid sent him a big beam and thumbs up. Harry sent him a smile back before heading to a free place.

"Why didn't you tell us you were Harry Potter?" the twins demanded as Harry sat opposite Hermione after shaking Percy's hand.

Harry shrugged.

"I'm still getting used to being Harry Potter."

The twins stared at him, not understanding that at all. However they just shrugged and turned back to watch the rest of the Sorting. There was only a small group left and it wasn't long until Ron's name was called.

"Weasley, Ronald."

"He'll be fine," Harry whispered to Hermione who looked nervous again.

She smiled at him and they watched as the hat was placed on Ron's head.

"_And here it the last one,"_ the Hat said sardonically. _"And you're just as interesting as the last two."_

"_Really?" _Ron thought, surprised.

"_Most definitely, Mr Weasley,"_ the Hat replied firmly. _"You're very relieved your friends are in Gryffindor because you care about them so much and want to look after them."_

"_Because I didn't do a very good job the first time,"_ Ron mumbled painfully.

"_You made a mistake,"_ the Hat corrected. _"But what I can see, you've always stuck by your friends and looked after them even when things are bad. And the point is, despite certain mistakes, you have always come back and done your damndest to put things right. Believe me, not many could do that and make their friendship even stronger. I saw your friends' minds and how they care for you. As a brother for Mr Potter and something much more for Miss Granger. Just keep doing what you're doing Mr Weasley and you'll be fine. Never forget your friend could not have got this far without you."_

As Ron digested this, the Hat continued.

"_Despite what you may think, I could have put you in at least another House but I believe you truly belong in..."_

"**Gryffindor!"**

Still looking rather bemused, Ron slid off the stool and headed for the table, to the side Harry was sitting on.

"Well done, Ron, excellent," said Percy Weasley pompously across Harry.

"Thanks Percy," Ron said with a smile as his body relaxed and he grinned at Harry and Hermione. "That wasn't so bad."

"No, it was rather interesting," Hermione agreed as Blaise Zabini was Sorted into Slytherin.

Dumbledore now stood up, spreading his hands and beaming at them all. Harry smiled to himself; it was so good to see Dumbledore back in his proper place, alive and healthy. Some might have held it against the headmaster for what he'd done but really, how else could he have gotten rid of that Horcurx? At least by Voldemort killing him, he had an incredible advantage when he came back in that Voldemort had no idea he was alive and therefore, lowered his guard completely.

Dumbledore hadn't wanted him to die, he'd wanted him to live but in the end, it had been Harry's choice to live.

"Welcome," he said. "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!

Harry laughed out loud; he'd forgotten those mad things Dumbledore liked to say.

"Thank you," Dumbledore said graciously to applause and sat down as the tables suddenly filled with food, making nearly all the First years gasp in astonishment.

The trio grinned at each other before helping themselves to the delicious food on offer, including several different roasts, plenty of vegetables, meats, sauces, gravy, Yorkshire puddings, salad, cheeses and many other mouth-watering foods. This time, Harry grabbed a handful of peppermint humbugs to eat at a later date; they would be nice sucking on during class. After all, he needed to start acting like a real First year.

"That does look good," Sir Nick sighed and they were treated to the usual routine of Nearly Headless Nick introducing himself before someone asked why he was called Nearly Headless and then the ghost demonstrating just why.

Harry grinned at some of the faces, you were always rather disgusted the first time but everyone quickly got used to the Gryffindor ghost. Harry glanced over at the Slytherin ghost and spied the Bloody Baron hovering about, unsmiling and not talking to him. It was strange to think he now knew how the Baron got those bloodstains, it was something every student wanted to know but few dared to ask him.

Harry also sent a sneaky glance at the Staff table where all the teachers were eating or talking to each other. Dumbledore was tucking into what looked like roast beef with gravy while listening to Professor McGonagall. Quirrel was nervously putting food on his plate, occasionally twitching and now wearing that ridiculous purple turban. But the real shock was Professor Snape who was eating like the others and only occasionally checking the students.

He just looked so...young compared to how Harry had last seen him. He had to swallow as he remembered the last time he'd seen Snape, bleeding to death from that horrible neck wound. And his staring black eyes, devoid of even the merest spark of life which had probably freaked him out the most. But now Snape was missing all of those lines of age and stress that he'd developed over the seven years Harry had known him and actually looked like a young man.

He still was rather unpleasant to look at with greasy black hair, sallow skin and a scowling expression but it was good to see him alive. Harry did want to make an effort with the Potion's master but seeing him brought back all the unpleasant memories of his interactions with the man. He'd need to create some better ones fast or it would be extremely difficult to be civil to him.

He looked away quickly, if he stared too long Snape would notice him and likely shoot him a nasty glare. Dinner past well, people were mostly eating rather than talking and it was only when the desert appeared when people started to really speak. Ice cream in every flavour, different pies, jelly, rice pudding, éclairs, spotted dick, jam roly poly pudding, jam doughnuts, strawberries and many more.

As Harry helped himself to his favourite, treacle tart, people started talking about their families.

"I'm half-and-half," said Seamus. "Me dad's a Muggle. Mam didn't tell him she was a witch 'til after they were married. Bit of a nasty shock for him."

People laughed at this but Harry grimaced. Snape's father had been a Muggle and from what little he'd seen, hadn't been pleased to find out about magic. Harry could only guess what had happened but Snape had clearly had an unpleasant childhood. While Seamus's father had obviously accepted what his wife and son were, others hadn't been so tolerant.

"What about you Neville?" Dean asked after explaining that his mum and sisters were Muggle but they lived with his Muggle stepdad meaning he wasn't sure if he was Muggleborn or a Halfblood as his dad had disappeared after he'd been born.

"Well, my gran brought me up and she's a witch," said Neville, "but the family thought I was all-Muggle for ages."

The trio shared looks at this; they knew why Neville had been brought up by his grandmother. And how he'd been told all his life that he wasn't as good as his parents but somehow, he must outshine them.

"My Great Uncle Algie kept trying to catch me off my guard and force some magic out of me — he pushed me off the end of Blackpool pier once, I nearly drowned..."

Hermione choked before spitting out a mouthful of pumpkin juice as she stared in horror at Neville as Percy vanished the mess she'd made. Harry was also staring, everything had been such a new experience the first time that he hadn't really put much thought to Neville's words but now he was. And so with Ron, if that frown was anything to go by.

— but nothing happened until I was eight. Great Uncle Algie came round for dinner, and he was hanging me out of an upstairs window by the ankles when my Great Auntie Enid offered him a meringue and he accidentally let go. But I bounced — all the way down the garden and into the road. They were all really pleased, Gran was crying, she was so happy.

"Oh my goodness, that's horrible," Hermione exclaimed, causing those around them to stare.

As Neville was too alarmed to speak, Percy asked.

"What's horrible?"

Ignoring Ron who was shaking his head at her, she said.

"What Neville's Great Uncle Algie did, that's nothing short of abuse."

"Abuse?" Neville repeated, very confused.

"Yes," Hermione stated almost shrilly, astonished that nearly everyone was giving her bemused looks. "Neville, you just said he almost killed you and for what? To prove you had magic...what if you didn't have magic and you'd died?"

Neville just stared at her with wide eyes so Harry quickly said.

"Uh, what Hermione's trying to say that if anyone did that in the Muggle world, they'd be arrested or at the very least, banned from contact with the kid in question."

"They would?" Neville asked in amazement as Dean said.

"Oh yeah, I heard on the news a story about a kid who was getting beat up by their stepdad but he finally got arrested when someone reported it. Don't you guys have police?"

"We've Magical Law Enforcement," Ron stated who knew enough by now to give the wizard equivalent to police. "And Aurors, dark wizard catchers, for the really serious criminals and stuff."

As Dean nodded with interest, Neville said.

"But...he's not beating me or anything; he was just trying to catch some magic out of me."

"But why didn't he just wait for you to show magic on your own?" was Hermione's demand. "If you had magic, you had magic and if you didn't have magic, you didn't, what does forcing you to perform magic achieve?"

"I uh...," Neville stammered, he had no idea how to answer those questions.

"Hey, maybe we could talk about this another time," Ron interjected. "The point is, you are a wizard and you're in the best House there is, Gryffindor."

There was a murmur of agreement, as Ron took the opportunity to hiss to Hermione.

"Drop it."

Quickly adding as she shot him a severe look.

"Not now, we'll talk later."

She had a rather stubborn look on her face but seeing how distressed Neville looked, nodded her agreement.

"I'm sorry Neville, I guess things are different in the wizarding world," she apologised to Neville who looked very relieved.

"T-that's okay," he assured her timidly. "I-I can't imagine how things are in the Muggle world, must be pretty weird."

Her smile was a little forced but she managed it. Ron filled the silence by quickly giving a description of his family with distracted everyone as his family was massive by both wizard and muggle standards. Harry honestly felt sick as he imagined how Neville had been abused and mistreated but the Welcoming Feast was not the place to discuss it. They'd need to get onto this as soon as possible but avoid scaring Neville off.

Harry wanted to be the boy's friend but he also didn't want Neville be terrified with them if they came on too strong.

"Hey Harry," Ron muttered, giving Harry a subtle nudge. "Snape's watching you."

Harry resisted the urge to turn around, knowing he'd be met with a glare of loathing.

"For long?" he whispered back.

"Nah, just for a few moments but he doesn't look happy," Ron said quietly, adding. "I think Hermione got his attention, he's giving us all a look... Oh wait, Quirrel just stuttered something to him, he's not looking anymore."

Trusting his friend, Harry shot the Staff Table a sneaky look and saw that Snape was indeed not paying the Gryffindor table any attention. He looked grumpy but after seven years of being taught by the man, Harry knew that for Snape, that was a fairly neutral expression. Harry turned back to his pudding, helping himself to some cranachan ice cream, a delicious mixture of oats, honey and raspberries.

"You know, I'm not particularly looking forward to Potions but at least Snape did teach us stuff," Harry sighed. "It's going to be a nightmare listening to Quirrel."

"We'll just have to get rid of him then," Ron said as though it was obvious.

This made Harry laugh but he didn't say anything else, you never knew who was listening in. The rest of the feast passed pleasantly until everyone was full and very satisfied. The remains of the feast all vanished, prompting Dumbledore to stand up again to give his start of year announcements.

"Now that we are all fed and watered, I have a few start of term notices for your attention. First years should note that the forest on the grounds is forbidden to all pupils. And a few of our older students would do well to remember that as well."

The trio caught each other's eyes and grinned while the Weasley twins sent their headmaster very innocent looks. After giving them a twinkle, Dumbledore continued.

"I have also been asked by Mr. Filch, the caretaker, to remind you all that no magic should be used between classes in the corridors. Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of the term. Anyone interested in playing for their house teams should contact Madam Hooch.

This made Harry smile, he wasn't sure yet if he'd be able to join the Gryffindor team yet but it was worth considering.

"And finally, I must tell you that this year; the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a very painful death."

This caused a lot of mutterings in the Hall but Harry didn't bother to ask Percy this time what Dumbledore meant.

"And now for the school song."

The trio laughed along with some of the older students as they spotted the look on the other teachers' faces. As soon as the words were formed using golden ribbons, they happily sung it with all the other students. Once the Weasly twins finally finished their funeral marching tune, Dumbledoe wiped his eyes, saying.

"Ah, music, a magic beyond all we do here! And now, bedtime. Off you trot!"

Everyone trooped off to bed, the First years following Percy and were only briefly waylaid by Peeves the poltergeist. Ron managed to neatly shove Neville out of the way when Peeves tried to drop his walking sticks on him, causing the shy boy to gratefully mumble his thanks. As soon as they reached their Common room, Harry hissed to Hermione.

"We'll talk when everyone's gone to bed."

She nodded her agreement before following the First year girls to their dormitory. Harry and Ron automatically headed to there, grinning as they beheld their gold and red four poster beds. Their luggage was already there including Scabbers still snoozing away in his cage with a little dish of food and a bottle of water. Ron grimaced at the sight but quickly decided to ignore it.

Along with Neville, Dean and Seamus, they changed into their pyjamas before getting into bed. However, while the other three boys quickly fell asleep, Ron and Harry somehow managed to stay awake despite how full they felt.

"This is going well so far," Ron hissed at Harry who nodded.

"Yeah, let's hope it stays that way."

Once about half an hour had passed, they snuck down to the Common room where a fire was merrily sparking. Taking the most comfortable chairs, they waited for Hermione to join them and she didn't disappoint.

"Sorry I took so long," she said as she hurried over to them. "The girls wanted to chat a bit, they've only just fallen asleep."

"No problem," Ron said lazily.

Hermione nodded, taking a seat before bursting out.

"Did you hear what Neville was saying about his relatives, I can't believe it."

"I know," Harry said darkly. "I didn't like it either but that wasn't the place to talk about it. It was just upsetting Neville and we didn't want to spoil the feast for him."

Hermione looked chastised as Harry assured her.

"But we will do something, isn't that right Ron."

"Yeah but it might not be easy," Ron said darkly. "Unless his relatives actually caused him serious injury or used a Dark spell on him, I don't think there's really any law against it. I remember mum and dad talking about these families that force their kids to show magic as early as possible and what happens if they don't. Remember that wizard who turned his seven Squib sons into hedgehogs? That's completely legal."

"I know and it's so frustrating," Hermione said angrily. "I bought a basic book on wizard law and there's no mention of laws protecting abuse victims. How can that be?"

"Pretty bloody difficult to prove abuse," Ron said wisely. "You can modify your victim's memories; control them with spells and potions and all sorts of things."

"Yeah and let's face it," Harry added. "For better and worse, wizard kids are under their parents control for at least eleven years and their interaction with others depends on who their parents let them be with. Half bloods and Muggleborns can get to school so the authorities are more likely to pick up on abuse but I think some Purebloods can be in pretty bad situations."

"But what can we do?" insisted Hermione. "We have to do something or it'll take years for Neville to throw off the abuse, longer than it should."

"We could try speaking to Professor McGonagall," Harry suggested. "She can easily handle Neville's gran and she might be able to advise us.

"Well, we can try," Ron said with a shrug. "I don't think Great Uncle Algie ever did anything else to Neville, apart from get him that hideous plant."

"What they did had lasting effects," Hermione said very grimly. "Constantly telling Neville he wasn't good enough, he believed them wholeheartedly, it was only when Bellatrix escaped that he really broke free of that mindset."

"And having a wand that wasn't his probably didn't help," murmured Harry, remembering how much Neville had improved in Sixth year. "We'll sort something out Hermione, don't worry."

She nodded before asking with concern.

"You're feeling alright aren't you Harry? Quirrel isn't hurting your scar?"

"Nothing yet but I haven't directly looked at him," Harry confirmed. "Speaking of which, Defence is going to be a pain in the arse with him."

"I know what you mean," she said, sighing heavily. "If only we could get rid of him sooner rather than later."

"But how are we going to get rid of Quirrel without him blasting us?" Harry asked.

"I have an idea," Ron said slowly. "It might just work."

_Author's note. Heh, sneaky little cliff-hanger but I thought I'd leave you guessing what Ron's idea is. By the way, does anyone recognise the quote Ron used? Hint, it's from a YouTube video and I'll reveal the answer next time. Brownie points for those who guess it. BTW, any idea when Trevor finally escaped Neville for good? According to wiki, Trevor finally managed to escape to the Hogwarts lake but it didn't say when. I know he had him at least in Third year but can't remember beyond that._


	15. Chapter 15

_Author's note. It says on wiki that there's around 144 first years on average starting Hogwarts which I think makes sense as this is a school catering to the whole of Wizarding Britain. Obviously, Harry's year doesn't quite make this number unless there's a lot of Gryffindor boys and girls we never hear about or there are a disproportionate number of students in other Houses. While I do think that Gryffindor might have had the smallest House in Harry's year, I think overall Harry's year was quite a small one due to the First wizard War but other years above and below were closer to the average 144 students. I know a lot of people portray each year as barely having forty students but I've always felt having a total of 270 students was way too small. I mean, that's the number my High school had and it was a really remote one. So close to a thousand makes more sense in my book, especially as the Third book makes mention of Slytherin having around 200 students. I'm sure some people will disagree, but there it is._

_I've used a rather basic timetable for Harry's first year taken from wiki, I don't know how accurate it is but I'm just going to go with it to make things easier. Here's a basic example of what might be a typical day, I hope it makes sense._

_Class 130 minutes with ten minutes between classes to reach next ones._

_Breakfast-6:30-(until 8:50)-9-potions-11:20-herbology-1:40-lunch-2:50-defence-5-dinner_

_A Cookie for lindsey-and-marie-enterprises for correcting guessing that Ron's quote came from 'How Lord of the Rings should have ended' Check it out on YouTube, it's really good and also look up How Harry Potter should have ended, I promise you'll love that. ;)_

_Enjoy and please review._

The first week back at Hogwarts could be described as...interesting to say the least. Really, the trio didn't know what else to call it; so many things happened that they barely knew what to focus on. Their first morning they woke up early as had become their custom over the past year and met up in the Common Room before heading straight down to breakfast. Unlike most of the other First years, they were among the first students to sit down to an early breakfast and remind themselves what classes they had.

According to the timetables lining the tables, they would normally have Potions first thing on a Monday but as this was their very first day at Hogwarts, they had this period off to explore the castle and find out where all their classes where. So they had about two hours before they needed to head for their very first class, which happened to be Defence Against the Dark Arts. Ron had explained his plan for getting rid of Quirrel and they had to admit it was a good one and would mean they wouldn't need to worry about him or Voldemort this year if things went to plan.

They had decided they wouldn't act just yet; they would give it a few days before they dared to do anything. After all, they'd thought they'd need the whole year to take him out; a week or two wouldn't hurt. At least they had Herbology in the afternoon, which was usually interesting.

"We could head to the library for the first period," Hermione suggested. "Get a head start on our research."

"Probably a good idea," Harry had to admit. "Everyone else will be busy with their classes, we can get out any books we need before their taken."

Ron sighed heavily but they really didn't have anything better to do. At least with Herbology, that would mean they got outside in the still good weather. He glanced down at the timetable before asking.

"Can you remember what we were learning in this class?"

"Not much," Hermione admitted. "The main things we're supposed to learn include the Flipendo spell, the jinx to give people runny noses and how to treat werewolf bites although we all know how useless that last one is."

"You're telling me," Ron grumbled. "That after fighting Death Eaters and bloody Voldemort...we're learning how to give people runny noses?"

"Yeah," Harry said grimly, he wasn't happy about it either. "All in favour of studying proper defence spells?"

"Aye," they responded grimly, learning the theory of how to cast runny noses was not how they wanted to spend their time.

Tucking into their breakfast, they were greeted by Percy who had just come to the Gryffindor table.

"Ah, up bright and early I see," he said with a smile as he saw the timetables close to them. "It's a good habit to get into, have you studied your timetables?"

"Yeah," Ron said, shoving some thick hot porridge into his mouth. "Don't have anything for two hours."

"Ah well, give you time to find your classes," Percy chuckled as he started helping himself to toast and jam. "But make sure you've got your books and supplies."

"We will," Ron replied in a long suffering voice as Hermione thanked him for his advice.

Half an hour later they were trooping towards the library in still quiet corridors. Harry was glad they'd gotten up so early, the Great Hall wasn't full but it was filling up and everyone was staring at him. Most of those people staring whispered out loud muttering about Harry's scar, his skinniness and wondering how powerful he was. Harry just strode at a fast pace until they left them all behind but even then, his pace didn't really decrease.

Ron and Hermione flanked him, unconsciously protecting him from harm. If anyone had spotted them, they might have thoughts these three were on some incredibly important mission, not just three ordinary students heading to the library. Their arrival was greeted with a lot of suspicion from Madam Pince but that's how she always regarded the students visiting her precious library. They quickly disappeared into the book shelves, searching for the relevant volumes on Occlumency and defence.

Hermione was the one who found a couple of heavy looking books on the complicated subject of Occlumency and quickly decided that she would read through it and if necessary, translate it for the boys. They had no objections over this; it looked exactly the kind of book that could bore them to tears. Instead, they concentrated on finding useful texts on defence of different levels as they'd learned the mildest of jinxes could be used to the greatest affect.

"This looks like a good one," Ron called, using his height to grab a fairly new looking book. "Jeffers Jinxes and Heston's Hexes; a comprehensive guide to defending thyself against thy enemies."

Ron stared at it before questioning.

"What's with the thy?"

"The authors probably wanted it to look more distinguished," Hermione answered casually, deep within her on book. "Some wizards prefer old, classical volumes so a title like that is a bit more...ah...elderly wizard friendly."

Ron wrinkled his nose, not really seeing the point as he flicked through the book, his favourite method of deciding whether it was a good one. After a moment, he shrugged and sat down with it, the book had passed the test. Harry smiled before continuing his own search; so far nothing had grabbed his attention. He finally found one he remembered reading before in preparation for the Tournament; it had contained a lot of useful spells. Many he already knew about and could use but there might be a few he overlooked.

"This is really interesting," Hermione stated after twenty minutes of study. "Do you think I could risk checking this book out, I'd really like to read it in depth?"

"I don't think Pince cares what you check out as long as you bring it back in mint condition," Ron stated as Harry added.

"I don't think she ever told anyone about the Polyjuice book so we should be safe. I'm going to take this one out."

They didn't linger too long in the library, after picking a few more books, they checked them all out and were heading outside to enjoy the September sunshine when Harry remembered something.

"I wouldn't mind getting hold of the Prince's book," he murmured quietly as they passed a few fellow First year who appeared to be trying to work out where everything was. Naturally, they gawked at Harry's scar as they passed.

"It had some good pointers and spells in it," Harry continued as Hermione looked a little concerned.

"What about Snape Harry?"

"I don't think he cares about it that much or it wouldn't have been with those other textbooks," Harry said quickly. "He might even have forgotten it's there, I think I can risk it."

"You know what we could do with," Ron interjected before Hermione could raise any more concerns. "The map and the cloak, it would make things a lot easier."

"Dumbledore's not going to give Harry the cloak until Christmas," Hermione pointed out. "And as for the twins, they only gave Harry the map so he could get to Hogsmede."

"Then lets nick it," Ron said as though it was obvious. "All they use it for is sneaking around and stealing food from the kitchens or going into Hogsmede illegally. We clearly need it more than they do."

Hermione sighed before saying.

"If you think you can safely get that from them, you're welcome to try Ron but I imagine they guard it well."

"What's the difficulty?" Ron demanded. "All I have to do is summon it and that's it."

"Yes but I don't want them bullying you if they catch you with it," Hermione explained slightly exasperated. "You know what their like."

"Yeah but I can handle them now," Ron stated with self assured confidence.

Harry smiled to himself, no matter how old they got, Ron and Hermione would always argue. He continued reading, not paying them any mind even as he wondered about their first Defence class. He wasn't sure but something told him he was a Horcrux again, after all, his body had acted as a vessel to Voldemort's soul piece. He may have gotten rid of it in the future but now he was back in his eleven year old body, he was sure it was a part of him again.

While rather unpleasant to think of, it would provide several advantages, not least being able to speak Parseltongue. Also, if he learned Occlumency, he'd be able to shield his mind against the Dark wizard while still being able to catch glimpses of Voldemort's plans. Besides, at least he now knew it was possible to rid himself of that soul while still keeping his own.

An hour later, he and his friends were sitting in the Defence classes; tiredly listen to Quirrel stutter his way through an introduction. While the others were nervous facing their first teacher and a little bemused by his stutter and trembling. The room stank of garlic and Harry couldn't help but remember the smell that had hit his nostrils when Quirrel had taken that turban off. The rotting, rank smell of death, he would have thrown up if not for the fact he had been frozen by the sight of Voldemort's face.

"Y-y-you will enc-counter many d-dark creatures out in the w-world," Quirrel stammered, pacing slightly in front of his blackboard. "Hags...w-werewolves...t-t-trolls and m-maybe even a zombie."

"Have you ever met a zombie, sir?" Dean couldn't resist asking.

"Y-yes," Quirrel replied, looking terrified at the very thought. "In f-fact I managed to g-get r-rid of a r-rather troublesome zombie for a Afr-rican village...t-this prince was so g-grateful, he actually g-gave me this t-turban."

"How did you do that, sir?" Seamus asked eagerly but Quirrel just turned pink and mumbled.

"The weather's r-rather war-rm for this time of year, isn't i-it?"

As Seamus's face fell in disappointment, Harry caught Ron's eye and rolled his own. What a piece of work Quirrel was, all this over the top playacting. Just who was he trying to fool, Dumbledore and Snape had easily seen through it. Thankfully, their other classes were considerably more fun even if Herbology left them with a lot of dirt on their robes. However, a sneaky cleaning charm soon took care of that.

Transfiguration was the class they'd been looking forward to as they could finally put one of their plans into operation. After her speech on how difficult Transfiguration was, she changed her desk into a pig, making everyone cheer. This was when Hermione remembered that Professor McGonagall didn't demonstrate her Animagus form until Third year. Thinking quickly, she shot her arm into the air and asked.

"Ooh, Professor, can people turn into animals too?"

"Naturally," Professor McGonagall replied with a nod. "But that is extremely advanced magic and very few wizards even attempt it. It is also highly regulated by the Ministry who record whoever succeeds in becoming Animagi."

"Are any of the teachers Animagi?" Hermione couldn't help but eagerly asked.

"Well," Professor McGonagall said, her lips twitching slightly. "There is one..."

And without further ado, she changed into a tabby cat, complete with markings around her eyes. Everyone gasped before applauding in delight, even those who'd grown up in the magical world had never seen an Animagus before, because they were just so rare. The tabby cat looked rather smug before transforming back into her normal, human self. Smoothing her robes down, she said.

"Becoming an Animagus is considered by some to be the epitome of Transfiguration but even if you never attempt it, you can still achieve great things with Transfiguration. For instance, those who achieve a Newt level will be able to accomplish many different levels of human transformation."

Harry had a fleeting image of Krum and his shark's head, and had to hide a grin.

"Now," McGonagall said briskly as everyone murmured excitedly over her words. "Today, you will attempt to transfigure a matchstick into a needle."

Turning to the board, she indicated a diagram of the wand movements and incantation and began explaining how it worked. Imagination was actually a big part of it, you needed to picture what you wanted to turn your object into. When you first started, transfiguration took a lot of work and power; you could literally spend a whole hour slowly turning your match into a needle. However, as classes progressed, you would find that simple transfiguration became easier and easier until you could do it in a flash.

That is when you'd progress to the next level and learn how to wield your power in a more efficient way. Of course, it really took a lot of work to become a master at transfiguration but Harry felt he had at least become competent at it. Hermione was the one who was talented at it but he and Ron were by no means rubbish. And since they knew so much, Harry thought they'd probably enjoy it a lot.

"Now, take out your wands and concentrate on your matchstick."

"How long until Hermione transfigures hers?" Ron whispered to Harry with a grin.

"Not long," Harry chuckled as Hermione eagerly waved her wand all along the matchstick which glowed before transforming into a perfect sliver needle.

"You've done it," Lavender squeaked in astonishment, staring at Hermione's needle.

As almost everyone else stood up to gape, McGonagall came striding over. She stared at the needle before offering Hermione a genuine wide smile.

"Well done Miss Granger, this looks like an excellent needle."

"Thank you Professor," Hermione said with a beam, she always enjoyed getting praise teachers but McGonagall most of all. Not just because she was their Head of House but because she was the teacher she admired the most.

"Since you've managed it so quickly, perhaps you can help anyone who is having difficulty?" McGonagall now suggested and Hermione nodded.

"Neville, do you need any help?" Hermione asked the nervous boy kindly as he looked rather overwhelmed by the task they'd been set.

He blushed furiously but slowly nodded, he was already feeling that he wouldn't be able to do this. As Hermione got up to go closer to him, McGonagall said loudly.

"Come along now; let's see who else can transfigure their matchstick."

The students obediently started again although none of them had the same instant success. Harry and Ron stared at their own matchstick, a little unsure how to proceed. It would look a little strange if they instantly transformed their matchsticks into needles but didn't want to spend the whole lesson pretending to fail, it would get boring.

"Just try to change one part," hissed Harry as a suggestion and Ron nodded.

After ten or so minutes, Harry had managed to make his as sharp as a needle while Ron had simply changed the colour of his matchstick. Glancing over at Hermione, she seemed to be making a little progress with Neville who had actually caused his matchstick to look different although not quite like a needle. Still, it was progress over the first time round.

"Mr Weasley," Professor McGonagall said sternly from behind Ron who jumped so badly, he accidently cast the spell, turning his matchstick into an incredibly sharp looking needle.

"There, you see," she stated, after a brief moment of surprise as Ron stared at his needle. "A little less daydreaming and a bit more concentration and you have transfiguration."

Ron flushed as now he was stared at by the whole class although Harry was the only one grinning. The others, particularly Hermione just looked very impressed. But before Harry could say anything to Ron, McGonagall turned and asked him to perform the spell.

"A bit more effort, Mr Potter," she commanded as Harry tried feebly to do the spell without actually doing the spell.

Knowing she'd know if he wasn't putting the effort in, he sighed and jabbed with his wand, creating a needle that was very sharp but not quite as silver as Ron's. Now he was the one being stared at which was a novel experience because he'd never performed so well in a Transfiguration class before.

Thankfully, the bell rang soon afterwards and they were able to pack up, the other Gryffindors still gaping at the trio. Hermione said goodbye to Neville who stumbled off and walked beside her two friends.

"That went better than I thought," she stated. "Did you see how well Neville did?"

"Yep, he was great," Ron said with a nod. "But you'll have to be careful Hermione, not to perform so quickly every time."

"I know," she sighed heavily. "I just...I know how to do it and it's so hard pretending I don't, I just don't underperform."

"We know," Harry said with a small smile. "This is obviously going to be harder than we thought but all we can is keep trying. We'll work something out."

"Just wait until Fred and George hear about this," Ron muttered. "They'll take the mickey out of me."

"How will they hear?" Hermione questioned.

"McGonagall's bound to tell Percy and then he'll tell them," Ron replied knowingly.

"Well they shouldn't get on at you for doing well," Hermione said indignantly. "There's nothing wrong with that at all and you shouldn't listen to them."

Ron just shrugged.

Nothing particularly exciting happened in their other classes, Charms was just the theory and Astronomy was the same as ever. They were mixing quite as well with their classmates this time around although since everything was so new, none of said classmates actually noticed. They hadn't had a good chance to talk to Neville yet, they were too busy trying to learn all they could about Occlumency as fast as possible.

It wasn't going too badly but it was a difficult subject and they had no teacher to rely on.

Speaking of Occlumency, it was actually Thursday by the time Harry ran into Snape and it was quite by accident. He'd dropped some quills in a corridor as he and his friends had been heading for dinner and had rushed back to grab them. Just as he was picking them up, he saw Snape emerge around a corner and stop dead at the sight of them.

"Professor Snape?" Harry blurted out; his Potion's teacher had almost literally appeared out of nowhere.

Taking barely a second to get over his own surprise, Snape's eyes narrowed and he said curtly.

"Potter, what are you doing?"

"Dropped my quills, sir," Harry replied, standing up and dearly wishing he was his Seventh year height rather than his current titchy First year height.

Snape eyed him as though he didn't believe a word of Harry's story but since he wasn't immediately saying anything, Harry decided to grab this opportunity.

"Professor...I um...I've been wanting to talk to you."

"Really?" Snape said, his voice dripping with distain as he managed to narrow his black eyes even more. "And what would a golden celebrity such as yourself want to talk with me about?"

Harry couldn't help but frown at the insult; he was meant to be an innocent eleven year old but pressed on.

"Well, when Hagrid was telling me about my parents, he said that my mum was really good at Potions."

Snape's sneer froze before slowly sliding off his face. Harry rushed on before Snape could do anything.

"Hagrid said that you and my mum used to have friendly competitions doing Potions, were you her friend, sir?"

"She was a fellow classmate," Snape said curtly. "I do not recall her being an unpleasant Gryffindor, unlike most of your House."

"_You recall,"_ Harry couldn't help but think sardonically. _"I think it was a bit more than recall, Professor."_

"But weren't you friends sir?"

"No," Snape said shortly before turning and striding away.

"_Oh no, you don't,"_ Harry thought as he rushed after him. "Sir...sir please, can't you tell me anything about her?"

"No, I can't," Snape snapped, increasing his walk. "Get yourself to dinner before I take points."

Harry stopped, knowing he had one last chance.

"Please sir...at least tell me what she looked like."

Snape stopped dead. Harry waited breathlessly as the greasy haired man turned with an expression of absolute disbelief.

"What are you talking about Potter," he spat, glaring at Harry as though he were playing a joke.

Harry swallowed heavily, glancing at his shoes as he said.

"I can't remember her sir," he said quietly, conjuring how he used to feel long before Hogwarts in case Snape probed his mind. The dull ache of not even knowing what his parents looked like which had only been shattered when he found that mirror.

"And my aunt's never shown me any photos," he continued, half glancing up at Snape. "I don't know what she looks like at all, all Hagrid said was that I've got her eyes."

He shrugged helplessly before questioning.

"Was she blond like my Aunt Petunia?"

"Blond?" Snape exclaimed in outrage as though Harry had just suggested Lily was a hag. "Don't be ridiculous Potter; she had dark red hair, not that floozy colour of Petunia's."

"You knew my aunt?" Harry said in surprise, instantly pouching on this little slip.

Snape blinked before his expression changed to one of mentally cursing. Harry scuttled a little closer to his teacher, still trying to hold a woebegone expression.

"Aunt Petunia called my mum a freak...she wasn't a freak, was she sir?"

His glasses had conveniently slipped down his nose meaning Snape got the full blast of his bright, earnest green eyes. He poured as much emotion into them as he could; remembering all the daydreams he used to have about his absent parents, about how great things would have been if they'd lived. His Occlumency was still extremely basic but as long as he projected what he was meant to, Snape should go any deeper.

"Of course she wasn't," Snape said brusquely. "She was a witch, there is nothing freakish about that, boy and if I hear you repeating such a thing ever, it will be detention. If you desire to know more, then ask your Head of House or Professor Flickwit. No doubt they posses enough photographs and stories to satisfy even a Potter."

He bestowed a sneer on Harry who smiled back.

"They'll really be able to do that sir?"

"Yes Potter, as I just said or did you go temporarily deaf?" Snape snapped.

"No sir, I heard," Harry replied before lunging forward and wrapping his arms around the dour man. As Snape made a very unSnape like squawk of shock, Harry said earnestly.

"Thank you sir, you're a very kind man."

Letting go of the stiff man who appeared to have turned to stone, he offered him another smile before saying.

"I'll see you in Potions tomorrow sir."

And without further ado, he took off back down the corridor before Snape could recover. It was moments like this that it was really handy he was a scrawny little git.

_Author's note. I think Snape would have been offended that Harry didn't even know what the beautiful angel who gave up her life for his worthless hide looked like. I hope he's not too OOC, I did my best with him. Anyway, next chapter will contain a POV that is not the trio but who is it? Also, Ron's plan is revealed, until next time._


	16. Chapter 16

_Author's note. Glad everyone enjoyed the 'Harry hugging Snape' bit, it was a lot of fun to write. It was OOC for Harry to do so but there was a reason for it which shall be explained. According to wiki, Quirrel attended Hogwarts either in the 60s or 70s so I'm making him older than Snape._

_A lot of people have been pointing out that I keep getting words like their/there, its/it's and your/you're wrong. Thing is, I have a mild form of dyslexia which means if it's spelled correctly, then I don't tend to see it as being wrong. So while I've been trying to avoid this, I have been missing some so just try to bear with me. _

_BTW, for Astronomy, since they always take place at midnight, that means that all four Houses in each year must take this class at the same time. Because time wise, it just wouldn't make sense for all the First year Houses to have this class on different days as what about all the other years?_

_Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year._

_Enjoy and please._

"So what happened earlier?" asked Ron as they lounged in front of the fire in the Gryffindor corridor. It was late and most students had gone to bed including Percy although not before reminding them that they shouldn't stay up all night. "Why wouldn't you tell us what you were up to?"

Harry grinned before saying.

"Did you notice how grumpy Snape looked when he came in for dinner?"

This made both of them sit up straight.

"You met him?" Ron demanded and Harry nodded.

"I did and it went better than I expected. Pretty sure I shook him up if nothing else."

"Why was he looking so angry?" Hermione had to ask, worried about what Harry might have done.

Now Harry grinned in such a sly way that she was even more worried while Ron grinned.

"I may have..."

Harry leaned forward so no one else could hear his last whisper.

"..._hugged_ him."

"You what!?" Ron yelped so loudly that several people stared."Are you bloody mental?"

"It seemed the appropriate thing to do," Harry said with a shrug as though hugging Snape was an everyday thing.

Hermione's lips were twitching furiously as she struggled not to laugh.

"Did you really Harry?"

"I did and what's more, he didn't curse me," Harry stated proudly. "Mind you, I did kind of scarper before he could do anything."

"But...but...," Ron stammered in complete confusion. _"Why?"_

"I suppose to thank him for what he's done," Harry said with a straight face with only cracked slightly as he said. "And to get him back for six years of giving us hell."

They both stared at him before Ron burst into laughter, practically howling as he rolled about in his seat. Hermione just shook her head but it was in amusement, she had a wide smile on her face. Turning a page in her book, she said casually.

"People are staring Ron."

He waved this point off; he was still too busy guffawing at what Harry had done. Harry just sat back and grinned, it was good just to laugh at stuff, rather than worrying about things. Like getting rid of Quirrel, they didn't want to wait too long to put Ron's plan into action.

"What...what's he going to be like tomorrow?" Ron finally managed to ask as his laughter died down to a few chuckles. "Think he'll go mental on us?"

"Who knows, maybe I've shell-shocked him," Harry said with a shrug. "We'll see tomorrow anyway."

"Think he'll tell anyone?" Ron said with a very wide, sly grin.

"As Harry said, who knows," Hermione said absently. "But I believe the expression, 'I'd like to be a fly on the wall for that conversation,' fits very well."

And the boys couldn't help but agree. Just what would happen if Snape actually told anyone?

The staff room

"...slipped down into the...," Pomona Sprout was just telling her colleagues when the door to the staff room was flung open with a responding bang as the youngest staff member stormed into the room in a towering fury.

While none of the students could not ever imagine Professor Severus Snape as being _'young'_, most of the staff had taught him and therefore easily thought of him as young despite the fact he'd been teaching for almost eleven years. Reaching for a cup to pour herself some tea, Minerva McGonagall calmly asked.

"Yes Severus?"

"Do you know what that brat had the gall to do?" demanded the angry Potions's Master, righteous anger pouring off him in waves.

"There are many brats according to you?" his former Transfiguration teacher replied. "We shall need a bit more of a clue."

"Potter," Snape spat out, successfully managing to make it sound like a curse. "He was asking me the most inane questions and then do you know what he did?"

"Please, do not keep us in suspense,"

"He...,"

Here Snape swallowed heavily as though he was choking back bile before managing to hiss.

"..._hugged _me!"

As the staff openly gaped at Snape, McGonagall blinked once before saying very sardonically.

"Yes Severus, I can see why you're angry. How dare a student assume you're human. Why, I suppose the only real question is how can we sufficiently punish him?"

With narrowed eyes, the sallow faced Head of Slytherin spat.

"This is not a laughing matter, Minerva."

"I never said it was," she said smoothly. "But I believe you are taking this far too seriously Severus, I do not see why you are so angry."

"Why did he hug you?" Rolanda Hooch couldn't help but ask curiously. The rest of the staff in the room as looked enquiringly at their irate co worker.

"I told him his mother had dark red hair," he said sneeringly. "He gave me some cock and bull story about not knowing what she looked like."

"Oh my," Pomona Sprout exclaimed in dismay. "The poor boy."

"Could he really not know?" Filius Flitwick asked with great concern.

Before Snape could give his negative response, McGonagall stated grimly.

"It would not surprise me at all. Do you know, while I was at his aunt's house on my visit during the summer, I did not see one photograph of Harry in the house? Only pictures of his cousin."

"His aunt probably noticed how vain the brat was and removed them," Snape suggested spitefully.

Giving him a withering look, McGonagall asked coolly.

"And the reason she wasn't displaying any pictures of her sister?"

Snape merely scowled.

"How are you finding young Mr Potter?" Hooch asked curiously. "I haven't had him for flying yet, be interesting to see if he takes after his father."

They ignored Snape's scoff as he helped himself to some black coffee.

"Well, he certainly appears to have an aptitude for Transfiguration," McGonagall said proudly. "He was the third student to successfully transfigure his match to a needle in the very first lesson."

"Oh, who were the other students?" Aurora Sinistra questioned.

"The first was Hermione Granger, a rather talented Muggleborn," McGonagall said. "You would not believe the speed with which she did it; I swear it was on her very first go."

"She does seem very advanced for her age," Flitwick agreed. "Simply lapped up everything I said. But who was the second student?"

"Ronald Weasley," was the reply, causing everyone even disinterested Snape to stare.

"Weasley?" Pomona exclaimed. "Well that's a surprise. I was worried he might take after his twin brothers."

"That was my concern too," McGonagall admitted. "But while he did do a little bit of daydreaming, he did manage to easily perform the spell."

"And then Potter did it too?" Snape asked sharply.

"Yes, he did," she said with a nod as Snape looked thoughtful.

Before he could say anything, the door opened and Dumbledore breezed in.

"Good evening," he greeted cheerfully, gliding over to a squishy armchair that he seemed to adore and everyone else avoided. Possibly because of its garnish hot pink colour with purple glitter stars.

"And how is everyone enjoying the first week back?" Dumbledore asked happily.

Shooting Snape a very sly look, McGonagall said casually.

"Severus has made friends with young Mr Potter."

"Really?" Dumbledore said delightedly as Snape glared furiously at McGonagall who offered him a smile before sipping her tea. "How marvellous."

"I am not _friends_ with him, headmaster," Snape stated coldly. "I found the boy to be insolent and far too forward, even for a Potter."

As Dumbledore looked at him in a politely enquiring way, McGonagall said.

"From what we can make out, Mr Potter was questioning Severus about his parents. And despite Severus probable hostility, Mr Potter was very grateful and bestowed a hug on him."

"Oh Severus," Dumbledore exclaimed, clapping his hands together while Snape growled under his breath. "That is wonderful news; I hope you were able to help young Harry."

The only reason Snape didn't give Dumbledore a withering look was the amount of respect he had for the headmaster.

"I advised him on the best people to ask about his parents," Snape said coldly. "No doubt he will lap up all you tell him about his saintly father."

"He's an orphan Severus," Pomona exclaimed. "Of course he will want to know all he can about his parents."

Snape just looked utterly contemptuous at this. With twinkling eyes, Dumbledore now said.

"You must give me that memory Severus; I would love to see it."

Snape's look turned, if possible, even sourer. McGonagall took the opportunity to say.

"Harry was asking Severus what Lily looked like. I believe he does not know what either of his parents looked like."

As Severus made a sound of disbelief, the room was filled by the sounds of horror and disbelief followed by a good dose of sympathy. Holding up her hand, McGonagall said.

"I think it would be a nice idea to collect some old photos of Lily and James and compile a little collection for Harry. The poor boy deserves to know what his parents look like if nothing else."

"You should ask Hagrid," suggested Silvanus Kettleburn, waving his stump of an arm with a hook on the end. "He knew them pretty well and he'd know all their friends, he could send some owls to them."

"Ah hah!" Snape said in triumph, leaping to his feet. "That proves it, if the brat really didn't know what his parents looked like, he could have asked Hagrid."

The staff all blinked at this, it was a good question. Dumbledore however said.

"Did Harry tell you why he sought you out?"

"Hagrid apparently told him that his mother and I were in the same Potions class," Snape said mulishly, thinking of ways he could make Hagrid's life very, very difficult.

"Ah, then that explains it," Dumbledore said with a smile.

"Explains what?" Snape demanded, adding as an afterthought. "Headmaster?"

"Well, to a young boy's mind, a man who knew Lily Potter as a contemporary, possibly even as friends would be much more attractive than someone who knew Lily as a student while they themselves were an adult," Dumbledore explained. "It would have been logical to ask Hagrid but a child's mind is a funny thing. Besides, from that Hagrid has told me, Harry's day with him was completely overwhelming and he probably naturally forgot in the midst of discovering magic. Although I do believe Hagrid would have told Harry how much he resembles his father so naturally he would be very curious about his mother."

Snape slowly sat down, still with an expression of disbelief.

"You must have made a good impression on Harry," Dumbledore continued, his lips twitching. "If he actually hugged you, not many students do that."

"I would have been happier if he'd never hugged me at all," Snape stated grumpily, taking a harsh gulp of coffee. "And if he does so again..."

"I will ensure he doesn't," McGonagall said sharply. "In the meantime, if he truly meant it as a gesture of gratitude, that means you are not to take points, give detention or bully the child in any way."

As he sneered, she added sternly.

"I mean it Severus or I might be tempted to tell a few tales about your school days with Lily."

Turning a rather unpleasant white colour that made him even more vamperish than before, he growled.

"You wouldn't dare."

"Watch me," she said calmly, helping herself to a biscuit. "However, if you do not retaliate, I shall not do so and I will gently explain to him not to hug you anymore."

Snape glared at her but as he dearly did not want Potter touching him ever again, he gave a short curt nod.

"We were just discussing the new students," Septima Vector told Dumbledore. "Of course I won't have any of them for two years but I wouldn't mind knowing who to watch out for."

"I have a good batch for Hufflepuffs this year," Sprout said proudly. "They all show a lot of promise and I'll enjoy teaching them."

"Same with my Ravenclaws," Flitwick said eagerly. "Quite a large number too, I believe my First years have the biggest group, with the Slytherins following closely."

He gave Snape a smiling nod who shrugged.

"I suppose some of mine show equal promise," he admitted dryly. "Zabini and a couple of the girls but it would appear some of my other students take heavily after their fathers."

"Like young Mr Malfoy?" McGonagall said dryly. "The boy does show talent but he does not seem inclined to work hard at all. He apparently believes it will all come to him, just like that."

"A far cry from some of my Gryffindors," she couldn't resist adding slyly making Snape snort.

"You mean that Granger girl? She's probably one of these Know-It-Alls, desperate to prove that she knows absolutely everything."

"I'd rather a Know-It-All than a troll," she retorted. "She might be eager but she was very willing to help and not show off. She was assisting Mr Longbottom with his transfiguration work; he's a rather nervous boy."

"I noticed that too," Sprout commented on. "But he was very good with my plants, not afraid to get his hands dirty; you don't always see that with the Purebloods. And somehow I can't really imagine his grandmother letting him mess around outside."

"Well, I suppose I'll see how he and his fellow Gryffindors are tomorrow," Snape said idly as Flitwick said.

"Oh yes Severus, I almost forgot you haven't had any of your Slytherins or the Gryffindors yet."

"Lucky me," the Potions's master said dryly. "Last year it was my Slytherins with the Ravenclaws and the year before they went with the Hufflepuffs. How ironic that Potter happens to be with the Slytherins this year."

He shot Dumbledore a suspicious look but the old Headmaster merely smiled.

"Severus, you know it has worked out that way for at since the time of the Founders. Every year, the shared classes are mixed up with the exception of Astronomy."

He smiled at Sinistra who smiled wryly back. Because her classes took place at midnight and it was impossible to divide the years up because that would prevent other years from being able to take the class on a different night. Therefore, she had the dubious honour of teaching classes that included all four Houses. Thankfully, due to the late hour the pupils were mostly quiet and well behaved despite the predictable mishaps with telescopes and star maps.

"Don't forget our bargain tomorrow," McGonagall reminded Snape. "Give the boy a chance to disprove your ridiculous preconceptions of him."

Because Dumbledore happened to be giving him a look, Snape nodded curtly.

"Well, it's only the first week," Flitwick stated cheerfully, clapping his hands together. "I can't wait to see how our students are doing in a month's time; it's always so good to see them flourish once they've got the basics under their belt."

There was a murmur of agreement, the students were very raw at the moment but time would soon reveal the talented, hardworking and the students' strengths in general. Even sour teachers like Snape enjoyed discovering the really passionate students for their individual classes; it made teaching the rest just about worth it. At least according to Snape who happily complained about ninety percent of his students and while tolerating seven percent and praising about three percent.

"Where is Quirinus?" questioned Vector suddenly. "I've barely seen him this week."

"The fellow does seem a little distant," Dumbledore agreed. "But perhaps it is nerves, teaching defence is very different to Muggle studies."

Snape made a scathing noise, Quirrel's stutter and nervous disposition was already grating on _his _nerves.

"I'm sure he'll get over it," Sprout said kindly although she looked rather unsure. "He just needs a little...erm, time."

"How much time," sneered Snape. "The students will never learn anything from him. Now if they had a competent teacher..."

"We know you want the job, Severus," McGonagall said with a roll of her eyes. "But we'd rather not lose you."

"You really believe in that curse?" questioned Charity Burbage.

"It would be a remarkable confidence if everyone single Defence teacher we've had for the last few decades have all been forced to leave their posts for purely natural reasons," Dumbledore said gravely. "We can only hope that young Quirinus leaves whole and healthy at the end of the year."

A few teachers shuddered slightly as they remembered Tyler Knight who had contracted an extremely rare disease which had eaten most of his body just before the end of the school year. Last year's professor had simply been a retired one who had taken out a contract stating they wouldn't work a single day after the school year was completed. This seemed to satisfy the curse and nothing dreadful happened to them. But it was starting to get rather desperate how they had to hire a new Defence teacher every single year; they were running out of candidates.

"I'm sure that won't happen this year," Flitwick said optimistically. "In the meantime, all we can do is encourage and support him until he finds his feet."

"Indeed," Dumbledore said with a smile. "Now, I've received another owl from Cornelius..."

The next day

"Potter," a voice called out but it wasn't the one Harry had been expecting.

He and his friends were waiting outside the Potion's classroom along with most of the others. Snape had yet to open the door so most people were chatting away, not yet having any fear of their Potion's Master.

"Yes Draco?" Harry answered patiently.

"What you said on the train," the blond boy said loudly enough to attract attention. "It doesn't change the fact that wizards and witches are better than Muggles."

Harry just shrugged.

"That's your opinion," he said simply. "In my experience, people with magic are just the same was people without magic."

"How can you say that?" demanded Malfoy as more people started listening to them. "We have magic, they don't, what more is there?"

"A lot more," Harry said wisely. "Having magic doesn't stop from murdering their fellow wizards and Muggles does it?"

"What does that have to do with anything?" Malfoy demanded again but sounding a lot more confused and rather annoyed.

"Just what I said," Harry said just as he heard the door opening. "You get good and bad Muggles same was with magical folk."

"In," came the cold voice of Snape which thankfully meant the conversation was cut short.

Everyone trooped in with Hermione casually making sure Neville was seated with them. The least they could do was make sure their fellow Gryffindor got off to a reasonable start in Potions. Snape swept to the very front of the class, his black eyes sweeping over everyone and creating instant silence. His eyes lingered on Harry who smiled slightly.

Breaking eye contact with Harry, Snape stared down at a ledger that he had picked up off his desk and began to call out the names. When he reached Harry's, he paused very deliberately and said.

"Ah yes, Harry Potter, vanquisher of dark lords."

"_Well, that was different,"_ Harry thought as he arranged a curious look on his face as people stared and a couple sniggered. Hermione was also hiding a smile, her professor just sounded a little over the top. Ron just stared at Snape, wondering at the change of wording.

"You are here to learn the subtle science," Snape began, giving the same speech he'd given them before about brewing glory, bottling fame and putting a stopper in death.

"_Done it,"_ Ron couldn't help but think. _"Or at least, Harry's done it."_

"...if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach," Snape finished.

"_Now's the moment,"_ Harry thought as Snape paused and looked in his direction.

"Weasley," came the surprise back. "What would I get if I powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"

Ron openly gaped at Snape, he had not been expecting that at all.

"Well, I believe I asked you a question," Snape sneered when Ron didn't say anything. "Do you not know the answer?"

A hard defiant look came into Ron's eyes and he said.

"They make a really powerful sleeping potion called the Draught of Living Death, _sir."_

Everyone stared in astonishment at Ron; he actually knew the right answer. Snape stared at Ron for a long moment before saying silkily.

"Well, well, a Weasley with an ounce of brain, I never thought I'd see the day."

Ron flushed as Malfoy laughed but he didn't say anything.

"Why don't we see if lightning strikes twice?" Snape said sneeringly. "Where would I find a bezoar?"

"Stomach of a goat," Ron answered instantly, ignoring Hermione's warning looks. "Sir."

Snape's eyes were now narrowed and he said silkily.

"And what is the difference, between monkshood and wolfsbane?"

"They're the same thing," Ron said triumphantly as several students looked very impressed. "Any other questions, sir?"

"As much as I would love to _pick _your _brain,_ Weasley," Snape said in a dangerous tone. "We're short on time but rest assured, there will be another time."

"I look forward to it," Ron muttered as Snape waved his wand and the instructions appeared on the board.

He looked around and saw Hermione giving him a very exasperated look.

"What?" he said as Harry said dryly.

"I think I've just been replaced."

The rest of the lesson went smoothly, with Hermione helping him; Neville didn't melt his cauldron although he was still trembling at the sight of the dour Potion's Master sweeping about the place. He loudly praised Malfoy's work while sneering at the Gryffindors, particularly Ron's while completely ignoring anything Harry was dong. Personally, Harry thought Ron was doing a great job preparing the ingredients, he had always been good but learning to cook seemed to have given him an edge.

Since it was such a basic potion, Harry and Ron had no difficulty in brewing it but Ron was determined to make it perfect. Harry wasn't sure where this had come from, Ron had always hated Snape but Snape had never seemed to have any personal hatred for Ron. Not the way he hated Harry or even Hermione to a certain extent; he'd always been scathingly dismissive of Ron.

Once they were all finished their Potions, Snape said.

"Fill up a vial and bring it up to the desk, do not spill any of this on your bare skin or you will break out in boils."

As Harry and Ron obeyed, Ron sneakily filled a few more vials. When Harry gave him a look, Ron just hissed "You'll see."

Harry shrugged and Ron took their vial up to Snape's desk. Ron then very deliberately turned and was just striding back to their work bench when there was a smash. Everyone jumped and Harry raised an eyebrow as Ron turned back to the desk where Snape was mockingly staring at the floor where their smashed vial lay.

"What a shame and you have no potion left," Snape said cruelly, his wave flashing out and disappearing everyone's potions.

Ron looked straight at Snape and then said cheerfully.

"That's okay sir, I had a spare."

And he brought out a spare vial and then came back to the desk, placing it firmly in the middle of the other vials. Snape glowered at him as everyone held their breath, waiting to see what would happen next.

"What amazing..._foresight _Weasley," Snape said slowly, picking up the vial and playing with it between his long fingers. "Interesting."

He smiled slowly, in a rather evil sort of way as Ron just stared back defiantly.

"Thank you sir," was all he said.

Snape didn't break this vial, just dismissed Ron with a wave of his hand. Ron turned and once again headed back to Harry who was staring with slight disbelief. The bell rang and everyone started packing everything away, with Harry whispering.

"How did you know that was going to happen?"

"I had a feeling he might," Ron said with a shrug. "He had the same look in his eye when he smashed yours that time."

They didn't say anything, just departed the classroom with the others, Hermione quickly rushing to their side.

"What was all that about" she demanded as they allowed everyone else to pull ahead.

"Nothing," Ron said simply. "I'm just not going to let Snape get the best of me."

"Get the best of you?" she repeated in confusion. "Ron, I don't..."

"He might be a bloody hero but he also put us through seven years of hell, you two most of all," Ron said sharply. "When he wasn't trying to get revenge on James Potter through you Harry, he was belittling you Hermione. You always did the potions perfect and yet he acted like you were scum. And as for people like Neville, bloody hell, he knew what happened to Neville's parents and yet he terrified the shit out of him."

Ron was breathing hard by now, his ears bright red with anger as he strode even faster along.

"I'm not letting him do that this year, even if that means he's out to get me, he's not doing the same again. But I'm not going to make it easy for him, if I have to become the best at Potions, I'll do it," he vowed firmly.

"Ron...," Hermione began but Harry shook his head even as Ron said.

"I've got to do this Hermione; don't try to talk me out of it."

She bit her lip, she clearly wanted to argue but against her better judgement she didn't. They continued on to lunch where many of their fellows were whispering about Ron but it wasn't difficult to ignore. This time, Hermione went with them to Hagrids where they discovered the newspaper clipping and good naturedly teased Hagrid about. Hagrid of course blustered and denied everything but they soon dropped the subject and enjoyed afternoon tea.

The weekend passed well, they spent their time in the room of Requirement with their forbidden books and researched healing, Occlumency and potions. Ron was still determined to outwit Snape and since Hermione never said no to more studying, she didn't protest. One thing they discovered during their study session was that while they knew all their spells, their bodies didn't.

Harry discovered he couldn't fire off the spells as fast as he could before or cast them as neatly. At first he was shocked but accepted he'd need to relearn the spells or at least, allow his body to learn them. He started on what he felt was the most important, the shield charm and the disarming spell. If they were going to face Quirrel and by extension Voldemort then they needed to be prepared.

Hermione practised the shield charm and various jinxes while Ron did hexes and also the shield charm. It was handy there was three of them as they could practice all their preferred defence skills and see who could get past who's shield. After they layered the ground with large and very soft pillows of course, past experience had taught them well.

"That's enough," Hermione panted collapsed on a pillow after Harry had managed to disarm her yet again. "I think I need a study break."

"Alright," Harry laughed, he was feeling a bit tired himself as Ron helped her to his feet.

"This is going surprisingly well," Ron commented on as she shot him a smile. "We're even ahead in our homework."

"Makes a change," Hermione chuckled, going over to a squashy armchair and sinking into it with a sigh of relief. "How did you find it?"

"Easier than I remember," Ron admitted before asking. "How's those healing charms going?"

"Good," she said with a smile. "I'm pretty sure I can heal minor injuries without dittany. Although I'm still going to get some as soon as I can harvest them from the greenhouses, they're not in season yet."

"Shall we do it now?" Harry questioned and they nodded, Ron bringing out his silver cutting knife.

"Don't worry, it's sterilised," he assured the two of them before rolling up his sleeve. "Let's do this."

Five days later

"Class is finishing, he should head to the staff room," Ron hissed, staring at the map he'd successfully nicked off Fred and George. They'd been observing Quirrel's movement and he'd usually go to the staff room before dinner. And thankfully there appeared to be some other staff members including Snape and McGonagall.

"Let's get going," Harry replied and the three of them marched off, heading to a spot near the staff room where they could wait for Quirrel but still be within hearing range of the other teachers.

They stopped before a corner and watched the map as Quirrel approached. They couldn't help but notice his dot was slightly smudged. There was no sign of Voldemort's name which made them think that was the reason for the smudged dot was because of the shared body. Quirrel had continued to twitch and stutter his way through every lesson, they'd heard the fifth and seventh years complaining the most about this.

"He's coming," Hermione said anxiously. "Oh, I hope this works."

"It will, don't worry," Harry said reassuringly. "Just remember to make as much noise as possible."

She nodded, nervously the handle of her wand currently sheathed. They watched the dot of Quirrel come closer and closer until finally, he was deemed closer enough. It was show time.

"You are so exasperating," Hermione shrieked, marching round the corner with Ron hot on her heels.

"I'm sorry, alright," Ron exclaimed as Harry tiredly brought up the rear. "Why do you have to be so difficult?"

"I'm being difficult?" Hermione half screamed, marching even faster across the corridor. "Ronald, you are the most insensitive, inconsiderate, unbelievable..."

"Watch where you're going," Ron suddenly cried, as Harry set a carefully placed tripping jink at Quirrel just as Hermione stumbled and collided with him. Ron collided with Hermione and Harry with Ron, sending all four of crashing to the ground.

As Quirrel gave a shriek of outrage, Hermione's hand somehow touched his and his shriek of outrage changed to one of excruciating pain. Unfortunately, due to the three children on him, all Quirrel could do was thrash and scream as little hands somehow came into contact with his bare skin.

"What's happening...what's happening?" Hermione shrieked hysterically at the top of her voice.

"Something's burning him," Harry cried. "Quick, get his robes off."

They started pulling away at Quirrel's purple robes even as he screamed and struggled to get away.

"Get off...you're burning me...ahhhh...ahhh," Quirrel screamed as his thrashing knocked his turban askew.

Knowing they had to be quick before the other teachers got here, Harry deliberately slipped his hand under that turban and rammed his palm against the strange, scaly skin that he found. Quirrel's scream of pain was the loudest yet but it wasn't the only one, another high pitched scream joined it and an explosion of magic blasted the three of them backwards.

Slightly winded, they stared as a strange mist seemed to rise from the twitching, crying form of Quirrel, solidifying into a terrible, furious face with red slit like eyes. It bared slightly pointed teeth, hissing madly as it leaned towards them.

"What are you?" Harry demanded and it let out a cackled of mad laughter.

"You do not recognise me, Harry Potter?" it demanded angrily. "I suppose I did look rather different the last time we met?"

Harry resisted the urge to snort and instead gasped theatrically.

"Voldemort?"

"Yes, puny boy, your ultimate nemesis," Voldemort hissed, coming even closer. "I am the reason you're famous, I am the reason you bare that scar, I am the reason you have no parents."

He sneered with relish at this part even as Harry's face hardened.

"Yeah and I'm the reason you're nothing more than a wasted parasite," he shot back making the red eyes contract with rage.

"You dare defy me?" he questioned even as the trio could hear the sound of running footsteps.

"Yeah, we all dare," Harry shouted right back at the spirit, raising his wand. "And we're not afraid to fight you."

"Yeah," Ron added, raising his wand along with Hermione, all three pointing at Voldemort.

"Mere children against the almighty Lord Voldemort? Ha ha hah haaaaa!" laughed the spectre even as Ron and Hermione's lingering fears over the man vanished. Really, was he always like this?

"How amusing, I've never been...yahh!" he shrieked as Hermione threw a ball of blue flames right at him while Ron and Harry sent blasting jinxes to throw him off balance.

As Voldemort roared with fury, Professor's Snape, McGonagall and Flitwick finally arrived, coming to an astonished halt at the sight that met their eyes. Seeing them, Ron roared.

"It's Voldemort, he's trying to kill us."

Seeing the red eyed spirit above a twitching, blubbering Quirrel with three dishevelled first year students looking much drained, it did not take even a moment for McGonagall to leap into action. With slash of her wand, she brought two nearby suits of armour to life who leapt in front of the children, holding their swords high. Both Snape and Flitwick sent a combination of spells which had Voldemort hissing furiously as he was forced to retreat.

"Be gone out of this castle," Professor McGonagall cried, her tartan robes billowing out behind her from the force of her magic as she directed it straight at Voldemort. "The headmaster knows you are here and he will not tolerate your presence."

"Yes, be gone," squeaked Professor Flitwick while Snape said nothing, just continued to send curses at the rapidly retreating dark spirit lord.

"This is not the end!" Voldemort screamed shrilly. "I shall return and wreck my revenge."

"Do you hear me Harry Potter; I will destroy you and your friends."

"Just try it," Harry yelled as a trill of Phoenix song was suddenly heard.

Recognising it was the sign of Dumbledore rapidly approaching, Voldemort let out one finally curse and sped away, moving snakelike through the air. A moment later, there was a burst of fire and Dumbledore appeared, electric blue eyes alight with fire and McGonagall cried.

"He went down that way Albus."

"I will ensure he does not linger," Dumbledore said grimly before charging down the corridor after Voldemort, Fawkes flying in his wake.

"Professor?" Hermione murmured before staggering sideways, caught by Ron who suddenly found he could barely stand.

"Oh my, children," she cried, rushing forward and clutching Hermione to her.

"Send for Poppy," she ordered Snape and Flitwick and they nodded, Flitwick waving his wand and sending what they recognised to be a Patronus away.

Snape sent them a strange look before going over to examine Quirrel while Professor Flitwick did his best to help McGonagall support the suddenly woozy children. Harry knew what it was; touching Quirrel like that had severely drained them but not enough to send them into unconsciousness. This was what had made Ron's plan so brilliant, with all three of them using Lily's protection against Voldemort/Quirrel, their chances of defeating him had been greatly increased.

"What did he do to you?" McGonagall asked in a strangely gentle voice as Snape waved his wand over Quirrel.

"I...we don't know," Harry panted, he really didn't feel great. "We collided in the corridor and...he just started screaming Professor."

"Dark magic," Flitwick said darkly.

"It's all my fault," Hermione said faintly. "I was arguing with Ron and not looking where I was going."

"It's most certainly not your fault Miss Granger," McGonagall said soothingly. "I don't know precisely what's happened but I do know you three were not to blame."

"He's been badly burned," Snape pronounced grimly. "He'll be scarred for life most likely but I think he'll live."

"Thank goodness," McGonagall murmured before saying. "As soon as Poppy's arrived to assess Professor Quirrel, we'll get you all the Hospital Wing where you can rest."

"Sounds good," Ron slurred, blinking his eyes as he tried to keep them open.

True enough, as soon as Madam Pomfrey appeared, she immediately ordered everyone to her Hospital Wing. Quirrel had to be levitated by Flitwick while McGonagall supported Hermione, Pomfrey Ron and Harry Snape. Snape had looked with distaste at his choice of boys to support but in the end seemed to decide Harry was the lesser evil. He had a sour expression all the way there where they were met by Professor Dumbledore.

"Voldemort is gone," he declared as the relevant patients were tucked into bed, Madam Pomfrey instantly going to work on Quirrel. "He will not return in a hurry and I shall take steps to ensure he cannot enter again in his current form."

"How could this have happened?" McGonagall questioned, overcome by the thought of Voldemort being near so many precious students.

"I believe our three young heroes may be able to help with that," Dumbledore said with twinkling eyes as he turned to them. "Perhaps some chocolate to strength the nerves?"

Very soon, they were indeed being given some thick slabs of delicious chocolate which definitely perked Ron right up. They relaxed against plumped up pillows as Dumbledore gently asked them to explain what happened. They explained about the argument, how Quirrel had tripped and collided into them, how he'd started shrieking in pain as some unknown force burned him.

There had been so much confusion, he'd been screaming so much, they'd tried to untangle themselves but they just kept falling over each other. Finally, something had blasted them off him and the almost ghostly form of Voldemort had risen up and challenged them. And how they'd responded defiantly and tried to defend themselves but how relieved they were that their teachers had arrived.

"Professor Dumbledore?" Harry asked when they'd finished explaining. "Why did Voldemort come from Professor Quirrel?"

Ignoring Snape's slight flinch, Dumbledore said gravely.

"I'm afraid Professor Quirrel was being possessed by lord Voldemort, although it is currently unknown whether this was willing or not. It appears that somehow, you three forced Voldemort to abandon his host body and flee. Although how you did this remains to be seen."

His eyes were piercing as he examined them closely but they just lay back tiredly in their beds. There was a moment's pause and then Dumbledore smiled again.

"I'm sure it's nothing for you to worry about, in the meantime you must get some rest."

"Professor, what's going to happen to Professor Quirrel?" Hermione asked and he sighed sadly.

"It is likely he'll be removed to Saint Mungos, his body had suffered greatly. For the moment, it looks like we'll be without a Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher."

"Oh no," she said softly as Ron rolled his eyes, even though it was an act.

With a twinkle, Dumbledore said.

"Do not fret Miss Granger; we will sort something out so your education doesn't suffer. I must leave and contact St Mungos, rest well."

As he left, Professor McGonagall now said.

"I'm afraid you will have to remain here overnight to ensure there are no complications but if you do everything Madam Pomfrey says, you should hopefully be able to enjoy the weekend."

They thanked her but she lingered a look of deep concern on her face.

"If...if you need someone to talk to about what happened, my door is always open," she told them firmly.

"Thank you Professor," Hermione said with a smile as the boys nodded.

She nodded before leaving to confer with Snape over what had happened, they were standing close to Madam Pomfrey who was still treating Quirrel. The trio glanced at each other before whispering.

"One down."

_Author's note. Hope everyone liked that; I've been trying to move the plot along a bit. Once again, Merry Christmas._


	17. Chapter 17

_Author's note. Some people have suggested that the trio allow Ginny to get the diary because it did make her stronger. Problem is, can you honestly imagine Ron agreeing to that? It may have made her stronger, as many other events made the trio stronger but that doesn't mean they're going to repeat them. Harry for example, most certainly isn't going to let Cedric and Sirius die just because he managed to become stronger as a result._

_Plus, because small differences can change events, they can't predict what might happen if Ginny gets the diary and Tom is unleashed. What if someone dies this time? What if Ginny mentions how different her brother is, what if Tom decides to act differently based on any information she gives him. So, spoiler alert, Ginny isn't getting the diary, I just can't picture the trio allowing that._

_Enjoy and please review._

"Well," Ron said, relaxing back against his pillows. "That went well."

"It did," Hermione admitted, glancing at the now empty bed across from them. "What do you think will happen to him?"

"No idea," Harry said with a shrug. "Maybe this will show him what Voldemort's really like."

"Who knows but he'll probably be holed up in St Mungos for a while," Ron said wisely. "I don't think we have to worry about him."

"But we have to worry about Dumbledore," Hermione stated worriedly. "He knows there's something funny about how we took down Quirrel."

"Yeah but we knew that was going to happen," Harry reassured her. "But I think even he will take a while to work out what happened."

He shot Ron a grin as he said.

"Who would suspect we became blood brothers."

"And sister," Hermione added with her own smile.

"And sister," Harry agreed, laughing.

The night before, they had all cut themselves with Ron's silver knife and then performed the blood brother ceremony. This involved Harry is placing his cut directly against Ron's and then Hermione's, pressing hard so that the blood mixed. In this way, Harry was able to pass on his mother's protection while also making Ron and Hermione his brother and sister. Hermione had shown them the best place to cut so that the blood flowed well but obviously not life threateningly. Once it was over, she healed it in a flash.

They had known that their actions would raise alarm bells in certain teachers minds but they'd felt it had been the best course of action. There was no reason to allow Voldemort to thrive for a while year while trying to get his rather Quirrel's hands on the Philosopher's stone. They had to get rid of him quickly and efficiently and this had been the best way to do it. The first time round, Harry had collapsed and been unconscious for three days, clearly, setting him on Quirrel alone was too risky.

Thanks to the plan, they were only slightly drained and only needed a night's recovery. And since they were alone in the Hospital Wing, they could discuss their next move.

"We're still going for Halloween?" Ron asked, referring to Scabbers.

"Sounds good," Harry agreed as Hermione said.

"I agree but I think we should put anything relating to Voldemort on hold after that. We'll attract far too much attention if anything else happens in quick succession."

"I'm alright with that," Harry said, stretching in bed. "We could try setting up the DA in the meantime."

Harry didn't mean the original DA but they still referred to their idea of a sort of homework club by that affectionate name. Because they were finding the schoolwork so easy, they thought setting up a group to help their year mates might help challenge them a bit. It would be open to anyone who wanted to come, including Slytherins. They weren't sure if any would come but the out of the whole House, the First year Slytherins were the most likely to join an interhouse group like this.

They hoped Neville would join, they'd decided not to go to their Head of House in the end. They didn't want to upset Neville and thought that encouraging him without demanding he perform might be better in the long run. Although Harry suspected that Hermione would still give Augusta Longbottom a piece of her mind if they ever bumped into each other.

And heaven help Uncle Algie if _he _happened to run into her.

Ron and Harry were planning to explore and try to find a disused room; they didn't want to reveal the Room of Requirement just yet. There were certain students and their families who were better off not knowing about it. The group wasn't going to be really formal or anything like that; they were hoping to make it casual while allowing their fellow First years to practise the spells they had learned during the week.

By helping the others to master charms and spells faster, they hoped to create something of a bond between the four Houses, instead of allowing the usual separation. Gryffindors usually got on best with Hufflepuffs while Ravenclaws seemed to get on best with Slytherins. Of course, Gryffindors and Slytherins as a rule did not get on but there was considerably less hatred in the lower years.

Of course, they had no idea how this would be received or even if anyone would join. However, all they could do was try and hope for the best, while attempting to make it fun for everyone. While the DA's purpose had always been serious, Harry had always tried to make the lessons enjoyable as Professor Lupin once had. He'd demonstrate spells then work out the best ways to practise them, either with partners or death eater dummies that could be liberally attacked. Since Umbridge had been forcing them to study nothing but theory, Harry's lessons had overwhelmingly been about the practical side of defence and he felt he was better at this than explaining theory.

Lucky, that's where Hermione could come in, her area of expertise was definitely theory. Ron wasn't really sure what he could contribute as a teacher but he was good at getting a group involved in stuff. He'd be able to tell more easily if the First years were enjoying themselves or not.

"I hope it goes well," Hermione now said with a smile. "It would be good if we could all get along instead of this silly House rivalry."

Ron grunted, he was really hoping the likes of Malfoy didn't come along. He could tolerate most of the others Slytherins but Pansy, Malfoy and his cronies he couldn't. They might be relatively innocent First year but he couldn't forget how they'd acted or some of the things they'd done, especially Crabbe. Harry and Hermione were a little creeped out by the boy who would one day be capable of torturing fellow students and trying to murder them.

Hermione didn't really think they'd come, perhaps they would to see what all the fuss was about but she doubt they'd stay. Malfoy was far too haughty and Ron could not be happier about this. He was slightly concerned that Fred and George would take the mickey out of him for doing extra studying and also that Percy might become interested. It wasn't that he didn't want Percy to approve but his brother would probably go on and on about it, encouraging the twins to also carry on.

"What do you think we should do first?" Hermione asked Ron who looked a little shocked but pleased. They started discussing what they could do in earnest.

Harry smiled and took out his new photo album out. It seemed Snape had actually told the rest of the staff that he didn't have any pictures of his parents and Professor McGonagall had gathered together a collection for him. The book was leather bound and continued many photos Harry fondly recognised as well as a couple of surprises.

He had a sneaking suspicion that Snape might have been bullied into providing a few although he never appeared in any. They were of a young Lily in her early school years, bursting with happiness and energy. Most were wizard photos, showing her casting spells and running about, her awe at her own ability evident. But there were a few that were muggle, still pictures that in a way, he preferred. Just these snapshots of his mother's life, moments he could look at again and again, knowing they wouldn't change.

This was only the beginning of the journey to defeat Voldemort and save as many lives as they could but at least he would always have this album to remind him why he was doing this. Lily and James had given their lives so that he would live, the least he could do was ensure their sacrifice was not in vain. If he could, he would make sure no one else was orphaned as a result of that monster.

And hopefully, this wouldn't involve coming into conflict with a certain headmaster.

Headmaster's office

"I'm telling you Albus, there's something suspicious about them."

Dumbledore leaned back in his chair as Snape paced his office, back and forth.

"How could three First years take down the Dark Lord and his lackey?"

"Perhaps it was an accident?" Dumbledore suggested calmly as Snape shot him a disbelieving look.

"You don't believe that," Snape stated, pausing in his pacing. "If it was an accident, then just how did they burn Quirrel's skin?"

"That is a very curious point," the old headmaster acknowledged. "There is definitely more to those young Gryffindors than meets the eye. But I do not believe we need be too worried about them Severus."

"Not worried?" Snape exclaimed, staring at his employer as though he was mad, a rather common occurrence. "Albus, what if they do something else?"

"I'm sure they will," Dumbledore said very calmly. "However, considering their actions has rid the school of a dangerous maniac as well as possibly saved a foolish young man from a dreadful fate...I'm inclined to wait and see what their next move will be. If all they do is continue to fight against Voldemort, then I would consider them allies."

"And what if all of this is much more sinister?" Snape questioned.

"Then," Dumbledore said, taking a sip of lemon flavoured tea. "Then we have a problem."

Snape grimaced but resolved to watch those three very carefully. He had them for Potions on Monday so at least he could start his observations soon. However, Snape did not get the opportunity to study the trio in his class as something rather unexpected happened.

The trio were heading to their first class which was potions, they were just emerging into the entrance Hall where lots of other students were mingling or heading off to their own classes. There was nothing special about this situation; Harry was simply half listening to his friends as they argued about something as they stepped into the entrance hall. His eyes idly wandered over the students and happened to rest on a group of Hufflepuff Third years.

And that's when it happened, a face suddenly jumped out at Harry, so suddenly that it felt like a bolt of lightning had struck him. A tall, dark haired boy who was rapidly becoming a handsome one with a bright, friendly smile was chatting animatedly with his friends as Harry stared. A third year, an ordinary boy with a lot of potential to achieve great things...if only he could live long enough to achieve them.

"Harry...are you listening...Har...Ron?" Hermione gasped as she saw her friend's face drain of all its colour and he swayed on the spot.

"Mate? What's wrong?" Ron exclaimed, grabbing hold of Harry's arm while Hermione tried to spot what had upset him. Following Harry's fixed gaze, she let out another gasp.

"_Cedric Diggory."_

"Bugger," Ron swore as he heard her and realised what the look on Harry's face meant, he'd seen it enough times. "Come on; let's get him out of here."

Taking him under his arms, they quickly dragged him away; thankfully no one was paying attention to a bunch of First years. They found a deserted corridor which led down to the laundry. They continued as far as Harry could go to avoid anyone finding them but eventually, his legs gave up.

He was breathing hoarsely, gulping in slightly steamy air as memories washed over him.

"_You've saved my life twice now."_

"_If we take it together, it'll still be a Hogwarts victory."_

"_Kill the spare."_

"_Cedric Diggory's death was a tragic accident."_

"_What really happened in that graveyard?"_

"_Harry...take my body back...to my parents."_

"_I will..."_

"_Oh Cedric," _Harry thought before he suddenly threw up all over the floor.

His arm slipped out of Hermione, and half slumped, he clutched his stomach as he threw up again. All of his undigested breakfast splattered across his front, the wall and the floor. But he couldn't stop, just the images of a smiling Cedric mixed with the ones of his pale, dead face with its wide staring eyes. He closed his own eyes but that just made it worse as he breathed in air and tried to stop heaving.

"Its okay, Harry," Hermione cooed even as she vanished the mess left.

Getting rid of the bitter smell helped a little but he was still struggling to control himself. He could taste vomit and acid in his mouth, making his eyes water. Cedric's death had been without a doubt the hardest on him, even worse than Sirius's. For some of those he'd seen die, it had been only hours later that he was back in Privet Drive so they just hadn't affected him that much beyond a few nightmares.

It hadn't been difficult seeing Fred with George because...Fred was always with George and there hadn't been time for the fact the twins would never be together really sink in. As for Sirius, well, he was experienced at losing someone by then and in a way, seeing Sirius with the aid of the Resurrection Stone really helped. He knew that Sirius would be waiting for him on the other side, along with his parents and Remus.

But Cedric?

No, he was nowhere near over that death even though he'd believed he was. Despite the fact he'd wished things could have been different, that Cedric could have lived, somehow he couldn't bear to actually see Cedric alive. It reminded him so painfully how an innocent boy had died simply because a manic had wanted to kill _him_. He'd blamed himself for Sirius's death but Sirius had been a grown man who'd made the choice to come after him, Cedric never had a choice.

He'd taken that Cup because it would have meant an end to the conflict within the school over who was the real Hogwarts champion. It would have been a resounding Hogwarts victory, the prize money and glory easily spilt between them. They would have made everyone proud, Cedric's parents, the Weasleys, all of their friends, their Heads of House, Dumbledore, everyone who mattered. Instead, it had torn the whole school apart with grief, anger and suspicion. What was worse was that Harry knew that Cedric would have been heartbroken at the events that had followed; he would have been horrified at how so many people had turned against each other.

Harry hadn't always liked Cedric, he'd been exceedingly jealous of how he'd won a pretty girl and thus, had scorned the older boy's hint for the second challenge. Of course, he knew that Cedric had won Cho simply because he'd asked for to the Ball in good time instead of delaying. Cedric had been two years older and hadn't felt the same awkwardness and pressure that Harry had, it was simple as that. As far as Harry could tell, Cedric had never said or even had a bad thought about Harry himself.

Cedric played to win like anyone else but he always wanted to do it in a totally fair game, for instance he had been outraged by the Demontor trick Malfoy had tried to play on Harry. He was just so...fair and he never despised anyone simply because they were on a different team. Harry was guilty of that and so were the twins, Wood and several others, they played and acted like Quidditch was a matter of life or death.

If Harry made it to the Gryffindor Quidditch team this time around, he swore that he would follow Cedric's example, that he would display good sportsmanship. Because as much as he loved the sport and was fully a part of the passion, Hermione did have a point about the discordance it created between the Houses. Looking at it, a lot of the conflicts he'd experienced in school had involved Quidditch. His big argument with Hermione in Third year had been because of his desperation to win the Quidditch Cup. A huge number of incidents with Malfoy could be traced to Quidditch.

The animosity some of his team had displayed to Cedric simply because he'd won that one match fair and square...

_Cedric..._

"I...I don't think I can go to Potions," Harry whispered. "I can't face them."

"Okay Harry," Hermione said in concern as Ron said.

"Come on, let's head outside, it's a good day."

"Are you sure?" Harry asked as they put his arms over their shoulders again. "We'll probably all get Detention."

Ron chuckled.

"Let's face it Harry, even if they send us into Forest, it's not going to be a real hardship. Voldemort's gone so the Unicorns and stuff will be safe. They'll probably give us some cleaning chores or something."

"Oh yes, I'd almost forgotten about the Unicorns," Hermione exclaimed as they made it into the empty Entrance Hall. "That's so wonderful."

"It'll make Hagrid's life easier," Ron said conversationally, seemingly unbothered by the fact they were playing truant. But considering they knew all the coursework and could easily catch up on anything missed, he had no reason to be bothered. Harry needed this and Ron was not going to abandon them.

Some people made the mistake of thinking that Ron wasn't interested in doing well at school but that wasn't true. Anything he'd ever missed was because of an emergency, he did want to get good marks, he just wasn't obsessed with it. He'd often complained about homework and sometimes, put Quidditch and other things ahead of it. But let's face it, he did what most other blokes did, they wanted to have fun rather than always think about class.

There was no way he was letting Harry face Snape in this state, the man would probably harp on at him all lesson if he seemed even slightly distracted. So along with Hermione, they took Harry outside into the sunshine and headed for a shaded tree. The weather was still warm so they settled themselves underneath the tree and relaxed. Harry placed his head against the bark and closed his eyes, trying to recover his composure. After making sure he was okay, Hermione took her potions book out her bag and began studying it.

Ron was just happy to lie back with Harry, silently providing his support. Cedric was clearly going to be something of an issue and he wasn't sure what he could do to about this. Would Harry react this way when he saw others like Colin Creevey? He remembered how he'd reacted with Fred, it had felt so weird but he also remembered his parents kind support.

Well, it looked like this was his chance to prove that he really was Harry Potter's big brother.

_Author's note. The logic behind passing Lily's protection is that if Voldemort could do it, why not the trio. Also, becoming blood brothers is something that doesn't happen now days because infections can be transferred in this way. Eh, I'm sure that reasoning isn't very sound but let's go with it and say a wizard did it._


	18. Chapter 18

_Author's note. I'm glad people enjoyed the blood brothers explanation, I wasn't sure if it would work but it seems to. I am trying to move this story along at a good pace but it isn't easy as there are quite a lot of things happening and I'm trying to be realistic meaning the trio can't just save the world within a month. _

_A couple of chapters, back, it was pointed out that McGonagall was rather OOC for offering her door to the trio when she never did it before. The reason I had her do that is that I think Voldemort is something entirely different to say, a troll. Virtually no one can say his name, he's that feared and considering three First years were confronted by him and almost killed, I think that would have shocked her enough to make that offer. Normally, wizards and witches are kinda expected to get on with things if they meet a dark creature but because Voldemort's in a league of his own, yeah, I think he would say that. Hope that makes sense._

_I've created a teacher based on an unnamed male teacher wearing a beret that's seen in the films who teaches art, a canon extracurricular subject. I got the name from an eighteenth century French painter and he shall be French. As I don't know many French people, I'm going to base his character on my favourite literally Frenchman,_ _Passepartout from 'Around the World in Eighty days', written incidentally by a Frenchman._

_Thank you to all those who have given me suggestions, they've been a big help._

_Enjoy and please review._

Ron had no idea how long they'd been there but he didn't care. Dumbledore had announced that Professor Quirrel had been forced to leave due to an accident and so Defence lessons would be cancelled that week. He assured them that they would be getting a substitute teacher very soon and hopefully, a more permanent replacement before long. So really, they were only missing Potions, they could go to Herbology after lunch.

They hadn't really talked, Harry didn't feel up to it but the silence wasn't unbearable. It was a beautiful day and it was nice just to lie there, relaxing in the sun. At some point during the couple or so hours they were there, Harry fell asleep, lulled by the peace of the autumn day. Neither Ron nor Hermione bothered to wake him up, he'd probably need all the sleep he could get. Ron only hoped Harry could find a way to cope with Cedric's 'reappearance' or there would be problems.

Not least because Harry would probably end up having horrible nightmares and difficulty sleeping, which only be the start. Harry felt that he had to be in control and if he felt that he was losing control, he could suffer a bit of a mental breakdown. There was so much pressure on all three of them but Harry would have the most pressure. He'd defeated Voldemort once...and now he had to do it all over again.

Ron sighed and glanced down at the parchment in front of him, quill in hand. For the last half hour or so, he'd been trying to think about what to write to Ginny. He'd remembered his promise to write and now was as good a time as ever to do it. It was just a question of starting it.

He considered the paper before dipping the quill and started to write.

_Dear Ginny_

_See, I did send you a letter, bet you thought I wouldn't. Bet its quiet at the Burrow without all of us there. At least we'll see each other at Christmas, that's not very far away, is it?_

_Okay, I know you probably want me to get to the good stuff so I will. As Percy has no doubt informed you, I got Sorted into Gryffindor along with Harry and Hermione. You'll remember them won't you? I'm only kidding Gin, obviously you'll remember them especially Harry who is single by the way...joking, joking. Well, we're still friends and I'm hoping that both can visit our home at some point, they live with Muggles so they've no idea how wizards live. Can you imagine that?_

_Anyway, not much to say about lessons yet, although their better than I expected. You know, I was the second person to Transfigure a match into a needle? I can't believe it, I thought I'd be rubbish at that stuff but I'm not. By the way, watch out for Snape, the Potion's teacher, everything the Bill and that told you is true, even the pickling students bit. Ask Fred and George if you don't believe me._

_My hamper went down really well, you should do one yourself next year. You and mum can do that, you'd definitely have a head start on me. The food here is great, not quite as good as mums but no one is better than mum. The feasts are the best and I can't wait for the Halloween feast, I've heard there's going to be loads of puddings. Save your pocket money for the train ride Ginny, they had loads of great sweets._

_How are things at the Burrow? Anything new happening? Let me know if there are, I don't care what it is. I don't have much more to say I'm afraid, the spells and things we're learning are really basic and stuff. If you've got any questions, you can always put them in your letter. I'm using Harry's owl Hedwig, I'll make sure she hangs around long enough for you to write a letter but don't be surprised if she steals the bacon._

_Really missing you_

_Love Ron _

"What are you doing?" Hermione asked curiously, she'd been buried in a book while Harry slept between them.

"Writing to Ginny," he answered causally. "I promised I would, the twins never bothered writing and Percy's letters were too pompous."

"Oh, that's really good," Hermione beamed. "I wish I could write to her but I don't know her yet."

"She wouldn't mind if you wrote her something," Ron said reasonably. "Or if Harry did, she'd adore that."

Hermione considered this before exclaiming.

"Maybe that's exactly what Harry should do."

As he looked at her, she explained.

"You remember how she was with him...she came across so shy and Harry didn't really know what to do. If they could write to each other, she could get to know him and it wouldn't be so awkward when they met up. They could become friends."

"Huh, that might work," Ron said, it was so simple and yet he hadn't even thought it. Then again, Hermione was very good at coming up with ideas like that. At least it would distract Ginny from the fact she was the only Weasley child left at the Burrow.

Hermione smiled before saying.

"She'll certainly be less jealous of you if we go write."

"Jealous of me?" Ron exclaimed, completely taken aback. When had beloved Ginny ever been jealous of him? He wasn't at all like his other brothers who had all achieved things worthy to be jealous of.

"Of how easily you made friends," she explained. "She told me she was always jealous of how the three of us just seemed to click instantly."

"But we didn't," Ron said slowly, remembering the Troll incident.

"To her, it seemed like we did," Hermione reasoned. "You made friends with Harry first day on the train and then I become your friend after only a couple of months at school. It took her a lot longer to make friends and she always envied how close we were."

As Ron considered this, Hermione added.

"There was also all the adventures we went on, even if people didn't know the full story, they still got a gist of what we were up to. Imagine how you'd feel if some of your siblings did half the things we did even if you only heard a quarter of it."

"I never thought of that," Ron mumbled, thinking of how jealous he was when Bill and Charlie went off to do exciting things. He never realised that Ginny was jealous of him; she always seemed rather scathing of him. She had a tendency to only give it to him straight when he was messing up somehow. And she would appeared to be far too amazed when he did something right.

Hermione now smiled and said.

"It's really sweet you're trying to make her feel better."

"Thanks...I don't want to repeat any mistakes I made," he said with a wry smile. "Me and Ginny used to be best friends but I always got annoyed when she got away with stuff and I didn't. The twins never seemed to pick on her either."

With a very sympathetic look on her face, Hermione took his hand and squeezed it. Feeling strangely confident, Ron continued.

"We played a lot together, if our brothers were too busy for us. We'd like...hunt fairies in the garden, brew potions in the kitchen...with whatever we could find."

Hermione giggled at this but not in a mocking way, more of a delighted way.

"We also used to make magic wands," Ron continued, enjoying how Hermione was leaned towards him. "We'd imitate mum when she used her, or try out spells we heard the others talking about. Bill would sometimes tell us about jinxes and curses he knew and we'd try to copy them."

"Sounds good," Hermione murmured softly, she seemed to be even closer.

"Yeah, it was fun," Ron said with a shrug, adding shyly. "Better than lessons..."

Hermione made a sound of fond exasperation and he grinned, leaning in himself. Her eyes started to close slightly and his own eyes seemed to slowly lower as they raised their lips towards each other...

"Potter...Weasley, what are you doing?"

With a gasp, Hermione flinched backwards and Ron resisted the urge to swear loudly. Turning, he saw that Snape striding towards them, black robes billowing madly. Ron groaned, of all the teachers to come look for them, it had to be Snape.

"And what do we have here?" Snape said silkily, glaring down at them while Harry slept oblivious. "Three little Gryffindor First years who think they're so superior to everyone else that they can skip two classes."

"I thought Defence was cancelled," Ron couldn't help but point out.

"Ten points from Gryffindors for insolence," Snape said instantly. "Care to explain why you felt unable to attend my class?"

"_Because you're a git,"_ was the answer Ron wanted to give but instead, allowed Hermione to answer.

"Please sir, Harry had a...panic attack and he couldn't face class. We thought it best to stay with him until he recovered."

"Recovered?" Snape sneered, looking down his hooked nose at Harry. "It looks to me that Mr Potter preferred to nap over studying."

"He only fell asleep a short while ago," Hermione said earnestly. "Sir, he's been having horrible flashbacks to the night his parents died."

"_Hah, that'll get him,"_ Ron thought smugly as Snape's sneer turned into an ugly grimace.

"Don't be ridiculous Miss Granger," Snape said curtly. "How could Potter have a flashback, he was barely one year old when it happened."

"But he does remember something sir," Hermioen said quietly. "A flash of green light...a pain on his forehead...and laughter, horrible, horrible laughter, sir."

An odd look crossed Snape's face; Hermione had just described perfectly an attack by Voldemort. Seeing her advantage, Hermione pressed on.

"Ever since Harry found out about how his parents died, he's been thinking about them quite a bit, imagining how they must have died. And now we've just come face to face with the monster who killed them...it affected Harry more than he thought. Especially now that he knows exactly what his parents looked like," she finished quietly, shooting Harry a sad look.

"And he needed both of you here to hold his hand?" Snape asked coldly.

"No but we wanted to be with him," Ron said hotly. "He told us to go to class but we didn't want to go without him."

"How touching," Snape said contemptuously. "Perhaps we should ask, **Potter!?"**

This last word was said in a half shout, making Harry jerk and sit up, a photograph slipping through his fingers. Before he'd fallen asleep, he'd been looking through some of the new photographs he'd been given, particularly the ones he hadn't had first time round. Snape's eyes followed it and narrowed as he saw that it was a Muggle photo of Lily. Harry rubbed his face, pushing his glasses up before blinking up at Snape in some confusion.

"Sir? He questioned, a little bemused about what was happening.

"You and your little sidekicks missed class," Snape said without preamble, staring hard at Harry. "Care to explain why."

Harry frowned before looking away, in the direction of the Lake. He suddenly seemed very tired and a lot older than his eleven year old body suggested.

"You ever wonder sir...what life might have been like...if certain people had lived."

Ron frowned, Harry must be really down if he was answering honestly like that. Not that he always lied to people like Snape but he wasn't usually that candid. He almost never admitted that things were deeply affecting him. Grimly, Ron knew that they'd have to throw themselves in a new project, something for Harry to focus his abilities on while getting used to the idea of Cedric being alive and blissfully unaware.

"There's no point in wondering," Snape said scathingly, which made Ron silently scoff. He might not be the best at feelings but even he knew that Snape probably spent a lot of time wondering what could have been. "When people die, they die and that is an end to it."

Harry's lip twitched into an ironic smile as he said.

"Is that really true sir? I've never known my parents, but I still think about them. I still...love them and want them to be proud of me. Their dead and yet there still out there."

He could be wrong, but Ron thought Snape was looking a little bit uncomfortable. To the untrained eye, Snape looked as he always did, sour and sneering but Ron was sure Snape was affected by Harry's speech, if only a little.

There was a pause and then Snape said curtly.

"Be that as it may, the three of you still missed class and will receive detention."

Harry nodded, readily accepting this.

"If you are feeling up to it," Snape now said sarcastically. "You will go to lunch and then proceed to your next class without delay. Also, you will write an extra two feet on the essay I assigned this morning."

"We will sir," Harry promised, shifting and getting to his feet, Ron and Hermione copying.

Snape's eyes fell on the Potion's book Hermione had been reading and he grumbled something under his breath.

"Well, get going," he snapped. "You will not be using the excuse that you felt too faint to attend class. You shall receive notification of your detention later today."

"Yes Professor," they all said before heading towards the castle, Snape following them in case they decided to disobey.

"Where have you been Ron?" Percy demanded as soon as they entered the Great Hall and came over to the Gryffindor table. It seemed the others had mentioned their absence from Potions.

"About," Ron said evasively as Fred said.

"I can't believe you skipped Snape's class of all things."

"Yeah, he's probably going to cut you up for ingredients," teased George.

"It's been nice knowing you, little bro," Fred said in a mock serious voice as Percy scowled.

"It's not funny," he snapped. "Ron, you should never skip class, never."

"What if I'm ill?" Ron couldn't help but ask causing Percy's ears to go red.

"Use your common sense Ron, I thought you were going to act more appropriately at school, especially with the good reports I have received from Professor McGonagall," Percy said seriously, shoulders back as he stared at Ron with disapproval.

"I'm not going to repeat it," Ron said in exasperation as the twins made noises of disappointment. "Look, this was something important but it won't happen again Percy, you don't have to worry."

"Just what was so important that you had to miss Potions?" Percy demanded.

Ron couldn't help but glance at Harry slightly before saying.

"Look, it's nothing for you to worry about Perce, okay?"

"Ron, I want to know...," Percy began but George interrupted.

"Leave him be Perce, their wanting to get their lunch."

Percy huffed but allowed them to settle down. The expression on his face however, suggested that he wasn't going to let the subject drop completely. Ron ignored him and started helping himself to lunch as Harry looked a little concerned.

"Everything okay?" he asked quietly.

"Yeah, it's not a big deal," Ron assured him, already munching on a bit of cottage pie.

"If you're sure," said Harry, he didn't want a rift to grow between Ron and his brother.

The rest of the day was fairly ordinary, they went to Herbology after class and then to dinner. In the middle of it, when the Great Hall was packed, Dumbledore stood up and waved for silence.

"As you are all aware, Professor Quirrel has met with a tragic accident and will not be able to continue teaching," Dumbledore said gravely.

No one really moved, Quirrel hadn't even been teaching a month and coupled with his nervous stammer, wasn't going to be missed much. In a slightly more cheerful tone, Dumbledore said.

"However, I am delighted to say that we have a temporary Defence teacher which some of you might recognise."

He gestured to his right and a man with a neatly trimmed beard and beret waved. Harry recognised him as the art teacher but he'd never taken a class so hadn't interacted with him. As far as he was aware, he was a good teacher who everyone seemed to like, those who had taken his class that is.

"Professor Perronneau has kindly agreed to substitute until we have a more permanent teacher for the post. Which means Defence classes will be running from tomorrow I'm afraid."

He said this last part with a twinkle as a few students looked rather disappointed.

"That's all, enjoy the rest of your lunch," he said jovially, sitting back down again.

"I'm glad we've got a new teacher," Hermione said in relief. "And we've never had him before, this should be interesting."

"It'll be different," Harry agreed and Ron knew what he meant. After some rather useless and boring Defence lessons, this new teacher would definitely be a refreshing change.

And maybe it would take Harry's mind off things.

_Dear Diary _

_You remember how I wrote that Ron was doing better than I imagined? Well, I'm not so sure about that now even though he's still getting good reports from his teachers. This morning, he skipped Potions and if Defence hadn't been cancelled, probably would have skipped that too. _

_What worries me is that he won't say why he skipped class but it's clearly something to do with Harry Potter. The boy seems harmless enough, very polite and appears to be quite intelligent but I don't know. There's something about his eyes, I don't know what it is but I do know, I don't see it in other students' eyes. And...it's something I've occasionally spotted in Ron's eyes, ever since he had that nightmare. Ron has changed and I thought it meant he was taking responsibility, trying to be more adult now he's going to Hogwarts but now I'm not sure._

_I've no idea what this could all mean but I'm worried Harry or even Hermione Granger might be a bad influence on my brother. How, I do not know, Ron has been achieving good marks and even defended me against the twins, which I can't complain about. But to skip class, completely out of the blue and for no good reason...I believe that I should keep a closer eye on my little brother._

_I won't write to mother and father about this, not unless Ron skips again but I will take action if he continues to change._

_Percival Wealsey_

"I can't believe how messy that was," Hermione said as they headed for Defence against the Dark Arts.

It was Wednesday and the trio had just finished Herbology which had involved mixing a lot of smelly manure and compost to create fertiliser. A lot of girls had been squealing over handling the dirt and dung: although Harry had to admit it was just as well they wore protective gloves. Neville looked like he'd enjoyed it, a rare moment of seeing him fairly relaxed in a classroom setting.

Harry hoped that this new teacher would be a good one; it would be nice to see Neville enjoy a class that wasn't Herbology. Although he actually did quite well in Charms, Professor Flitwick was so cheerful and Charms a fun subject, nearly everyone had a good time.

"It wasn't that bad," Ron said, unconcerned as he flicked a bit of dried dirt off his robes.

"Lavender wouldn't agree," Hermione said with a small laugh, listening as said girl complained loudly to Parvati up ahead.

"Pft, she didn't have detention with Snape," Ron retorted casually, making Harry smile wryly.

Snape had made them prepare some of the most disgusting ingredients imaginable the precious night, which had included skinning, gutting, disembowelling, decapitating and various other things, including pulling out slimy gloop with their hands. It had been very disgusting but compared to other detentions, rather tame. Snape was obviously trying to put them off the idea of ever doing anything to earn detention ever again and Harry had to admit, to a normal First year, it would be pretty effective.

The other Gryffindors had been very curious about why they'd skived off Snape's class but they'd managed to deflect questions so far. Some people seemed to think they were acting arrogant because of how well they'd be doing in class, while others thought they were merely being daring. However, since they'd been punished with such a seemingly unpleasant detention, no one was holding a grudge.

They dutifully filed into class, taking their seats and waiting for their new teacher to appear. He didn't keep them long but swept into the room with a swept of his dark red cloak, complete with matching beret.

"Good morning children how are you this fine day?" he asked with a clear accent.

Everyone replied, a little unsure as he was an unknown. He chuckled before saying.

"Forgive me; my classes are a lot more...shall we say, casual as they are not part of the main curriculum. You do not achieve an Owl or Newt grade but you do receive a certificate detailing your achievements so if any of you are tempted to take this class in Third year..."

He broke off, chuckling as he said.

"But I am getting ahead of myself, trying to entice prospective future students to my course when I have not even introduced myself."

Drawing himself up proudly, he said.

"I am Professor Jean-Baptiste Perronneau, your temporary Defence teacher. I achieved a fair grade on the subject so while my lessons might only impart very basic information, it is better than nothing, no?"

Harry was smiling, Professor Perronneau seemed like a genuine person, unlike Umbridge who had been sugary sweetness it's self.

"I have been thinking how best to teach you," Perronneau continued, gesturing slightly with his wand. "And since I know a lot about art and a little about Defence...why not combine them?"

He waved his wand and a covered easel suddenly flew forwards, its sheet lifting up to reveal a beautifully painted unicorn. As the students watched in awe, the unicorn suddenly tossed its head while seeming to look straight at them. It then kicked its back legs before galloping around its frame, becoming smaller and then larger as necessary.

"Cool sir," Dean declared, being a talented artist himself, he loved this.

The boys were in awe of the magic while the girls loved the picture of such a beautiful animal; even the trio were pretty impressed. Looking very pleased, Perronneau said.

"I have had this piece for a couple of years, I managed to see a unicorn in the forest and paint it."

Waggling a finger at them, he said.

"I had Hagrid with me on that occasion and it is forbidden for you to enter the forest, however if any of you take Care of Magical Creatures, you will be introduced to unicorns at some point."

This certainly made a few girls take note, which amused Harry. None of them had any idea that not all the creatures they'd be meeting would be beautiful or harmless but they'd learn soon enough. Now Perronneau was beaming as he said.

"Of course, I'm not showing you this picture to show off, it is an example of what you will be doing."

As everyone gasped in surprise, he said.

"You will all be learning to draw and paint your own magical creature...which will be animated at the end."

This caused excited muttering as he added.

"Of course, for homework, you will be researching your assigned animal and I shall expect a little report on its particulars. I am hoping that this will occupy you until a more qualified teacher presents themselves."

"You're really going to teach us to paint like that?" Parvati asked in awe.

"I will try," Perronneau said modestly. "But remember, this is just for fun and a little lesson in research for you...and perhaps a not so subtle attempt to entice you towards art."

"But come, we are losing precious time, let us begin."

He waved his wand and their desks were flown to the side of the room while different easels and stools replaced them. Each easel had a supple of pencils, charcoal, paint and various art materials. Perronneau summoned an easel for himself and began to show them how to get started. He told them they weren't going to work on their creature today but first learn how to work with paint. Once they were more confident, they could learn how to enchant their paintings to move.

At the end of the lesson, everyone had painted something which Dean's being the best of course. Perronneau then offered around a floating hat which they each had to take a slip of paper which would show them their designated magical creature. Harry took his and almost laughed out loud...a Hungarian Horntail. Well, he'd have no trouble imagining what one of those looked like.

"For homework, you must research your chosen animal," Perronneau said enthusiastically as the bell went. "Find out how they move, how they act and most importantly, you must bring an image of the animal. Off you go now."

"That was good," Harry said to his friends as they left. "I dunno if I'm much of an artist though."

"Same here," Ron said with a shrug. "But it's different. But did you see what I got?" he added with disgust, brandishing his slip of paper which said 'Acromantula'.

"Look at mine," Hermione said, showing her slip which said 'Nundu'. "It's meant to be one of the deadliest animals there is...thank goodness its native to Africa."

"Don't say that," groaned Ron. "The blasted thing will probably turn up now."

"I don't think so," Hermione said with a smile. "It's very difficult to track down and impossible to control."

Ron just made a scathing noise, glaring at his slip. Of all the things he had to paint, why did it have to be this thing? Harry just laughed before saying.

"Think he's doing something similar with the other years?"

"Possibly but it would have to be more Defence based for the older years," Hermione reasoned. "Especially the Newt students, they'd need to be studying curses and defence spells. But perhaps he is having them draw out the movements, what the curses look like and perhaps, their affects."

"I wouldn't mind him teaching that instead of this," Ron stated, waving his paper around in frustration as his friends laughed.

However, what none of them noticed was a figure watching them worriedly from just around a corner. A figure which horn rimmed spectacles.

_Author's note. Things start to move in the next chapter as the trio take on Scabbers the rat but how does that go? Find out next time, until then._


	19. Chapter 19

_Author's note. A few people have been panicking that Percy has somehow gotten hold of Riddle's diary but think about it for a moment. Just how would he have gotten hold of it considering nothing has changed for Lucius Malfoy? Just because a wizard has a diary does not automatically make it __**THAT **__diary._

_BTW, Snape said 'Potter, Weasley' because he didn't know Harry was asleep. And I always got the impression that he'd start on the boys first before he'd have a go at Hermione. So that's why he didn't snap Granger, his instincts instantly focused on Harry and Ron._

_I won't abandon this story; there just may be gaps between updates sometimes, if I'm busy with real life or if I'm having a hard time writing a certain chapter. Also, I'm doing my best to move this story along but it's hard as I haven't written this kind of story before and I don't want to rush it or miss things out. Obviously some chapters work better than others and I hope you like this one._

_Enjoy and please review._

Percy watched as his brother and three friends left their Defence class, chatting away about their lesson. Everything looked perfectly normal; Ron appeared to be complaining about something if his hand gestures were anything to go by while his friends were laughing. Young Harry said something and Ron gave him a shove, making the boy laugh and say something back to Ron.

"I'm being paranoid," Percy muttered to himself, rubbing his face as the trio disappeared from sight.

Sure Ron had changed but was it really a big deal? He was acting more mature; he was going well in class and apart from that one incident, wasn't looking to get into trouble. Just why did he get a strange feeling when he watched his younger brother? It was impossible for him to put his finger on what was wrong, he just knew that something was.

He was half tempted to trail them in case anything did happen but decided against it. He'd already cut his studying short just to watch his brother come out of class, something he'd never have normally done. He didn't even bother to tail Fred and George, if they were determined to cause trouble, they would. Maybe he should just give this up, it wasn't even Halloween yet, what was the point in worrying?

Best thing to do was note down anything odd in his diary and before Christmas, he could review it and see if anything was alarming. If there wasn't anything, then he could put this behind him but if there was...well, he'd think about action when the time came.

"I think I'm going to enjoy this," Hermione stated as she checked her book of Fantastic Beasts and where to find them. "Nandu's are fascinating creatures."

Ron made a disgruntled noise, still irritated by his creature and the fact he'd need to draw it. Actually, not just draw and paint it, but enchant it to come alive so that it would scuttle all over the paper.

"It won't be that bad," Harry teased.

"Oh yeah?" Ron challenged. "Why don't we swap then?"

"Nah, you're alright," Harry laughed as Neville came over.

"Hi, what did you guys get?" he asked nervously.

"Hungarian Horntail," Harry said. "That's a dragon."

"Really?" Neville asked. "I don't know much about dragons or other creatures."

"That makes two of us," Harry laughed and Neville managed to smile nervously.

"What creature did you get Neville?" Hermione asked encouragingly.

"A mountain troll," Neville said with a sigh.

Ron made a strange sound but as Neville looked at him, said.

"Tft, my brother said we'd be wrestling a troll when we came to Hogwarts...and then it turns out we just had to try on a Hat."

This made Neville smile a little as he said.

"I still can't believe I ran off with the hat still on, he actually asked me where we were going."

They all had a little laugh at that as Neville now said. "Are you doing your creatures right now?"

"We were thinking about it," Harry said with a nod. "But we're not sure about doing it here, bit hard to think over all this noise."

"Oh," Neville said, glancing at the rest of the noisy common room with regular bangs going off. "Yeah, it is a bit noisy."

"We found a nice room we were thinking of using," Hermione piped up. "It's a little hard to think in here sometimes, isn't it?"

"Y-yeah," he agreed as Ron said. "Wanna come with us?"

"I can come?" the round faced boy asked eagerly and they nodded, making him beam.

Just as they started to head to the Portrait, Parvati and Lavender now came over. They asked where they were going and what creature they got. After the trio and Neville answered, Parvati said.

"I got a snake...it's called an Ashwinder."

"And I got a fairy," Lavender sighed happily. "I can't wait to draw it."

"Do you want to come with us?" Hermione invited. "We're going to a room so we can study in peace, maybe we could all help each other?"

"Ooh, can we do that?" Lavender questioned and Hermione said. "I don't see why not. I don't know about you but I don't have much experience drawing beyond very basic lessons in Primary school. I could do with a bit of help."

"I didn't think you needed help from anyone," Parvati said in shock, everyone knew Hermione was the best in the year.

Hermione shrugged with a smile, the two girls looked quite eager to come now that they knew drawing wasn't Hermione's strong point. Hermione actually wasn't bad per say at drawing but she couldn't put real life into it like Dean could.

The other Gryffindor First years didn't appear to be around but if Neville, Parvati and Lavender enjoyed themselves, then hopefully the word would spread. With a bit of luck, this could turn into something good, especially if First years from the other Houses started to come.

"So where is it?" Lavender questioned and Ron said.

"We'll show you."

One month later saw the trio sitting down to breakfast in the Great Hall. The weather was starting to turn, no long were the days long, warm and sunny, a nip was beginning to develop in the air. There was a bit more of a buzz today, everyone was excited for the Halloween feast, especially the First years as most had never been to one. A certain three however...

"I thought we were never going to reach Halloween," Hermione stated as she read her morning paper. "But it's here."

"At last," Ron sighed in relief as he tucked into bacon and eggs.

Harry smiled as he ate some creamy porridge; he knew why Ron was pleased. It really was Halloween at long last and they would be getting rid of Scabbers. He knew Ron had not enjoyed taking care of the killer but thankfully because of their school work, Ron hadn't needed to spend much time with him. And this wouldn't have raised any suspicions with the treacherous rat, he'd probably been expecting to be half forgotten when his 'master' went to Hogwarts.

As long as he was fed and kept in a safe place, the rat would have no concerns about how much time Ron spent with him. With Halloween drawing closer, Ron was getting more twitchy and anxious, he just wanted this to be over and Pettigrew in Azkaban. At least there had been a few distractions this past month, including Harry making the Gryffindor team.

It was funny, Harry hadn't really planned it, and at the time it just seemed to happen. They were having their first lesson and this time, had prevented Neville from getting a broken wrist but simply grabbing onto his broom. However, Neville still ended up shooting up way too high and Harry and Ron had followed. Madam Hooch had aloud this since they were clearly trying to get Neville down safely as the plump boy was starting to panic.

But just as Harry was convincing Nevile everything would be okay, there was a sudden jolt and Neville's Remembral had somehow gone flying. Automatically, Harry had swung round and shot to the ground, neatly grabbing it. What happened more or less followed the original timeline which Professor McGonagall angrily storming onto the field and taking Harry away only to seek out Oliver Wood and declare he had a new Seeker.

At first, Harry hadn't been able to work out what had happened until he realised that Hermione had conspired against him. She hadn't told him because she had wanted his reactions to be completely natural. Well, he now had his Nimbus 2000 and he couldn't be happier. Training was going well and it was a good distraction against nightmares and the occasional sightings of Cedric Diggory.

Of course, some First years were rather jealous especially Draco Malfoy but he wasn't so confrontational this time round. Mainly because he ended up extremely confused every time he did start an argument with them, he just couldn't shake them.

And speaking of Draco Malfoy.

"I still say you're wrong."

"About what?" Harry questioned, a little bemused as Malfoy had just marched up to him and came out with that statement.

"About Muggleborns," Malfoy said angrily. "I still think they're not as good as wizards."

"But they are wizards...and witches," Harry pointed out. "The only real difference between them and you is that you grow up knowing your magical. And I believe we had an agreement..."

Malfoy went bright pink; he was too pale to manage red. However, he stuck his hand in his pocket and brought out some Galleons and thrust them at Harry who took them with a smile. Before Malfoy could stalk away, Harry reminded him.

"Don't forget the other part of our bet, you've got to seriously consider your views."

"Fine," Malfoy snapped before leaving, not giving Harry a chance to say anything else.

"What's his problem?" Ron said with a slight smirk as Harry checked the amount of Galleons.

"He can't argue that a Muggleborn is one of the top three students of our year," Harry said cheerfully before giving Ron some of the coins. "Here, this is your share."

Ron stared at them for a moment before taking the coins and placing them carefully in his pocket. He'd had plenty of time to come to terms with Harry's bet and had accepted it without feeling weird about it. After all, getting Malfoy to give them some Galleons was a real victory, even though this was not the Malfoy he hated. At least, not on the same scale as the older Malfoy.

"So when are we going to see McGonagall?" Ron questioned as Hermione absentmindedly took the coins Harry handed her.

"I thought before dinner," Harry said. "We've got Transfiguration after lunch and it would make sense to ask her after it."

"Fine with me," Ron shrugged as Hermione also nodded, very intent on an article. She wanted to ensure she was completely up to date with wizarding affairs; she really wanted to learn what kind of news was daily reported.

As they ate breakfast, Ron suddenly exclaimed. "We're learning Wingardium Levisoa today, aren't we?"

"Yes, we are," Hermione agreed, his statement had gotten her full intention.

"Weird isn't it," Ron said softly. "Thinking about what happened the last time."

"With the troll?" Harry said and Ron nodded as Hermione said.

"At least we know you can do the charm," she pointed out, making Ron laugh.

"I dunno," he said mock seriously. "I might need a troll to get it right today."

This made them laugh; it really was strange to think that there really wouldn't be a troll. And hopefully, this Halloween wouldn't be as action packed as the first one.

"Hurry along, you three," Professor McGonagall said, she was packing away the scrolls everyone had handed in as homework earlier.

"Please Professor, we were wondering if you could answer something for us," Hermione said as they stepped forward, Ron holding his limp rat. A rat that had been stupefied.

"What with Miss Granger?" McGonagall asked, looking up at them. "Is there a part of the coursework you're having trouble with?"

"No, it's not that Professor," Hermione said with a shake of her head. "We were just wondering...wizards can obviously turn themselves into animals right?"

"Only those who are Animagus," McGonagall corrected. "And not many chose to become that."

Hermione nodded before saying. "But how do you tell if someone is an Animagus? There could be loads in the castle and we wouldn't know."

"Like Mrs Norris," Ron offered, making it sound as though he'd been arguing with Hermione over this.

"Mrs Norris is no witch in disguise," McGonagall said with amusement just as the door to her classroom opened. "But it is very easy to tell if an animal is really a witch or wizard in disguise."

"Professor," Percy of all people said as he entered the room, holding a stack of books. "I was wondering if I could discuss...what are you three doing here?"

"We're just asking a question," Ron said in annoyance as Percy came over to him.

"I'll be with you shortly, Mr Weasley," McGonagal said as she turned back to Hermione. "You see, there is a spell..."

"You're not in trouble?" Percy couldn't help but ask, coming over to them and placing his books on a nearby desk.

"No," Ron said in exasperation. "Percy, we're fine, stop worrying so much."

"I just want the best for you," Percy began before spotting the state Scabbers was in. "What's wrong with Scabbers?"

"I dunno," Ron said, not noticing that McGonagall had her wand out and was demonstrating the wand movement.

"I'll get him," Percy said, suddenly pulling out his wand and aiming it at Scabbers.

"Percy," Ron yelped but was unable to stop Percy pointing his wand and saying the revival spell. And as Scabbers came awake with a squeak, he happened to catch the Transfiguration Professor saying that she would demonstrate the Animagus reveal spell.

In a flash, Scabbers had sunk his sharp teeth into Ron's hand, causing him to yelp and fling Scabbers into the air. But Professor McGonagall had already been casting and her spell still managed to hit the flying rat who squealed shrilly in pain as a bright light engulfed him. Harry had tried to grab him but the flash blinded him, he automatically covered his eyes just as an overweight, balding man landed on the ground.

"Peter Pettigrew!" McGonagall yelped in shock as the watery eyed man stared at them for a moment before turning tail and running away, transforming as he did so.

"Get him," Harry cried, they were not letting him get away now.

Scabbers squeaked as hex was thrown at it, only just missing as he skidded out into the corridor. The trio charged after him, leaving a gaping Percy and very stupefied Professor McGonagall both of whom were able to move or even react. It had to be said that Scabbers had probably never run so fast in his life, desperation fuelling every step he took. He pelted full speed down the corridor with three first year students racing after him.

Somehow, one of their spells hit him just as he was about to dive into a mouse hole and enlarged him so that he whacked into the hole and bounced back.

"You got him," Hermione exclaimed as Ron looked a little surprised that had worked, he'd just been firing whatever spell he could think of at his rat.

"No, he's up," Harry yelled as Scabbers that cat sized rat rolled to his feet and bounded away around a corner.

There was a scream and as they also rounded the corner, they saw a second year holding her robes and screaming at the sight of such a large rat. They ignored her and kept running, determined to catch him before he could find a proper escape. Ron was cursing Percy for his interference, why did he have to meddle.

"Levicorpus," Harry yelled as Scabbers started to run around another corner.

Instead of hitting him, it hit a suit of armour, yanking it up by an ankle leaving the other leg dangling oddly along with the arms. Harry swore as they ran past and could have sworn that the suit of armour shook a fist at them. Oh well, they could deal with it later.

"How the hell is he dodging all of this?" Ron snarled in exasperation as his jinx missed Scabbers, bounced off the floor and across two walls, making several portraits shriek with indignation.

"I don't care, just get him," Hermione replied sharply, almost tripping over a vase that the rat had knocked over in his haste to get away.

"Finally," Harry exclaimed, panting as they held the rat aloft.

"So...what now?" Ron questioned, they were all rather out of breath and a little unsure about their next move.

"Well," Hermione began, clearing trying to think of something sensible. "We could..."

"Ere, wot's going on here?" came the rasping voice of Filch who had managed to appear out of nowhere and quickly hurrying over to them. "Casting spells in the corridors and Entrance Hall? That'll be detention for the lot of yah."

"Oh but Mr Filch," Hermione said quickly. "This Peter Pettigrew, an Animagus?"

"Pettigrew?" he repeated in surprise, he hadn't been expecting that answer. "Don't be stupid, he's dead, that Black killed him."

"Who?" Harry felt honour bound to say.

"Sirius Black," Filch all but spat. "A right trouble maker he was, I always knew he'd come to a bad end, you can always tell."

"_Sure you can,"_ Harry thought, knowing that Filch believed that of all trouble makers.

"Anyway," Filch continued. "That ain't Pettigrew, he was blown up so put that rat down girl."

"But Professor McGonagall...," Hermione began but at that moment, the Great Hall doors opened and Professors Snape and Flitwick came marching out.

They stopped and stared at the rather comical sight before Snape said silkily.

"And what may I ask is going on here?"

"Students messing around with magic," Filch said eagerly as Ron protested. "We were chasing Peter Pettigrew."

Like Filch, Snape and Flitwick stared at him before both spoke at once.

"Peter Pettigrew?"

"Don't be so ridiculous Weasley, what foolishness is this?"

"It's true Professor," Harry spoke up, Hermione was concentrating on keeping Scabbers in the air. "Professor McGonagall used this...animagus revealing spell on Scabbers and he turned into a man. She called him Peter Pettigrew."

"She did?" Flitwick said curiously. "Well, we can easily test that."

While Snape looked extremely sceptical, Flitwick waved his wand and cast his spell over the terrified rat. The adults' expressions instantly changed as a blue light glowed from the rat that was now squeaking in pain and writhing madly. There was a flash and Hermione was now levitating an oversized man who was breathlessly trembling.

"P-peter Pettigrew!" gasped Flitwick just as McGonagall appeared at the top of the stairs along with Percy.

"Filius, Severus, you've got him," she exclaimed, looking rather ruffled as she descended the stairs.

"We...have," Snape said slowly, giving his former schoolmate a very calculated and dangerous look. Harry knew why this was, this was the man who had betrayed Lily Potter nee Evans to Voldemort and Snape was smart enough to put two and two together.

"What is going on?" Percy demanded his face white as he beheld the man that had formally been his pet. "Who...is that man?"

"Miss Granger, I'll take over," Flitwick said kindly, sure that she was getting very tired holding up Pettigrew.

"Thank you Professor," she said gratefully as he did just that, while also cancelling the enlargement charm.

"I-I can explain," Pettigrew squeaked, eyes darting all over the place as he desperately tried to find an escape.

"You've been pretending to be my little brother's pet," Percy said slowly, his face gaining colour at an alarming rate. "You...you..."

"We will deal with him," McGonagall said firmly, resting a hand on his shoulder before he could do something rash. "Look after your brother, Percy."

"Wha...?" Ron began as Percy marched right over to him and pulled him into a rib cracking hug.

"Hey, gettoff," he complained as Percy hugged him tighter than he'd ever hugged anyone.

"I'm so sorry," his brother whispered making Ron frown but Percy didn't add anything.

"Miss Granger, would you please fetch the Headmaster," McGonagall commanded. "We'll take Pettigrew into that room."

She indicated a side room and Hermione nodded before hurrying into the Great Hall. Without needing to be asked, Flitwick began directing the helpless floating man to the side room, with everyone else following. Normally, Percy wouldn't but he very much wanted to know why a man had been masquerading as a pet rat for over ten years.

In fact, he felt very sick as possible reasons entered this mind. He swallowed, resisting the urge to actually be sick; he needed to be composed in front of his teachers and his brother.

"Who is he?" Harry questioned aloud. "Mr Filch said something about a Sirius Black?"

Filch grunted agreement, Mrs Norris by his feet

"I believe Professor Dumbledore would be the best at explaining that," McGonagall said heavily, sitting down in an old chair to wait for her employer's arrival. "But I suppose I should tell you that Peter Pettigrew was one of your father's friends at school."

"What?" Harry said as Snape rummaged through his robes before bringing a vial of clear liquid forth. Harry instantly recognised it as Veritaserum, the truth potion. Only his Potion's teacher would carry such a potion around with him. _"He's_ one of my dad's friends?"

"He always did have very questionable taste in friends," Snape sneered in contempt as Pettigrew burst out. "At least none of our friends were Death Eaters!"

"Death Eaters?" Harry dutifully repeated as Snape sneered again and said. "Really? So you're saying Black isn't a Death Eater?"

"I-I...well...uh...," Pettigrew stammered just as Dumbledore entered with Hermione at his heels, creating instant silence.

"Peter Pettigrew," Dumbledore murmured as the mass murderer began to tremble even more. "I never thought we'd ever met again."

"Pr-professor Dumbledore," Pettigrew mumbled in a stammer. "I-I can explain, I swear."

"I look forward to it," Dumbledore said pleasantly, conjuring some comfy chairs and sitting himself in one.

The trio along with Percy and Flitwick took a seat but Snape and Filch remained standing. Carefully placing his fingertips together, Dumbledore paused before asking.

"Perhaps you could begin by explaining how you are an Animagus?"

"I uh...it's just something I did," Pettigrew mumbled, trying to shrug.

"Really all on your own?" Dumbledore said, sounding mildly surprised.

"Well," Pettigrew started to say, not meeting anyone eyes. "I thought it would be an...an interesting experiment."

"Very interesting," Dumbledore agreed. "But I'm amazed none of your friends knew about this?"

"T-they might have known," Pettigrew admitted, making all the teacher's eyes widened.

"James Potter was very talented in Transfiguration," Dumbledore said conversationally. "Did he help you achieve an Animagus form?"

Pettigrew hesitated, clearly debating whether he should reveal one of the Marauders greatest secrets but self preservation finally got the better of him. He nodded and said quickly.

"Y-yes, the three of us...James, Sirius and me...we became Animagi."

"Not Lupin," Snape quietly scoffed clearly trying to rile someone up and it seemed to work as McGonagall sent him an annoyed look.

"My dad could turn into an animal," Harry murmured, he knew the story well enough to be aware of when to speak. He was meant to be hearing all of this for the first time.

"Yes," Pettigrew squeaked, pouncing on this. "H-he could turn into a stag...with big antlers?"

"And Sirius?" McGonagall asked, looking rather eager.

"D-dog...a big, black dog," Pettigrew answered, anxious to please.

Dumbledore nodded slowly before saying.

"I believe we shall put aside the issue of why you all decided to become Animagi...what I would like to know is why you have been masquerading as a rat for...ten years?"

"I would very much like to know that too," Percy said hotly, gripping Ron tightly who looked annoyed. "You were my rat for almost five years and before that you were Charlie's. What have you be doing with my little brother, you sick, depraved..."

"Mr Weasley," McGonagall exclaimed though she was starting to look rather suspiciously at Pettigrew who quickly protested.

"I've never done anything," he cried, twisting and squirming. "I've just...I've just been a normal rat, I haven't even transformed in ten years until now."

"Did you watch then?" Percy demanded as Ron said hotly. "Percy, he didn't."

"You can't know that," Percy said gently. "Just be quiet Ron and we'll get to the bottom of this."

Ron grumbled but knew it was better to be quiet so things could roll on. He couldn't help but feel rather good that Percy was showing this much concern for him. He actually wasn't sure if Percy ever knew about Pettigrew being Scabbers the first time round, Percy had left when the rest of the family had been informed and they hadn't made up until the last moment.

"But why have you been a rat for ten years?" Dumbledore persisted. "What possible reason could you have to hide?"

"I...I've been scared," Pettigrew gasped out. "Of the Death Eaters...especially Sirius, h-he'd kill me if he knew I was still out there."

"But Sirius is in Azkaban," Dumbledore pointed out, looking mildly confused. "He is constantly surrounded by Dementors, he is of no threat to you."

"Y-you don't know him," Pettigrew yelped. "Once you cross him, that's it, he won't stop until your ruined or...d-dead."

Pointing right at Snape, he half shrieked.

"Remember when he fed Snape to Remus? That wasn't a prank; he really meant to kill him."

"Fed him to Remus?" Percy repeated in completely confusion as the trio also tried to look confused.

"Who's Remus?" Harry murmured as Snape's expression darkened at Pettigrew's word but all he said was. "Really?"

"Yes, oh yes, he hated you," Pettigrew said enthusiastically, seizing this potential life line. "He hated how you were always following us, trying to get into trouble...and he didn't like how mad you made James, because you had James's girl, she never looked at him when she was with you. Sirius wanted to get rid of you once and for all, it was the perfect plan. He'd just blame your nosiness and call it a tragic accident; he knew the headmaster would never get rid of Remus."

Harry was sure Snape must have realised Pettigrew's guilt and was probably playing along with Dumbledore...but somehow he thought the rage that the Potion's master was currently radiating wasn't fake. And Pettigrew wasn't finished.

"But then James went and saved you, he ruined Sirius's plan. Sirius was furious, he couldn't believe it. I think that's when he started to resent James, for throwing his gift back in his face. And when he started going out with Lily that made things worse."

"Indeed," Dumbledore said the very picture of being enraptured with Pettigrew's story. "So is that why he ended up joining Voldemort and becoming a Death Eater."

"Yes!" Pettigrew cried in relief, no doubt hoping he was being believed. "He said he left his family but he didn't really, I think he started reading and experimenting in the Dark Arts. He wanted power and recognition for his talents...so he must have gone to You-Know-Who. I can't even imagine the things he was taught."

He gave a shudder and beads of sweat flew everywhere, making Mrs Norris hiss in disgust. And Harry knew just how she felt; he really was a pathetic individual.

"So if Sirius even suspected you were still alive, he'd hunt you down and kill you?" asked the old headmaster and when Pettigrew nodded frantically, said. "But you're a hero Pettigrew; you stood up to Sirius and tried to protect all those Muggles. You've been awarded the order of Merlin, First Class, the Ministry and I would happily have protected you. Given you a new identity is necessary, in a new country."

"It wouldn't have worked!" protested Pettigrew hysterically. "He would have found me, you don't like me like I do."

"It would appear not," agreed Dumbledore. "But I hope you understand we cannot allow you to go on living as the Weasleys rat, I do not think they would be able to take you back."

Percy shook his head vigorously as Ron also shook his head, he certainly didn't want that rat back.

"S-so what are you going to do with me?" asked Pettigrew, fear entering his voice.

"Well," Dumbledore said pleasantly. "You've told a very compelling tale and we have no reason to disbelieve you...so I'm sure you'll understand if we take certain precautions so we can verify your story."

"Pre-precautions?" stammered Pettigrew, his eyes suddenly shooting to Snape who was moving forward with an evil smirk.

"Just a few drops of truth serum," Dumbledore said reassuringly. "If everything you've told us is true, then you should have nothing to worry about."

"N-no!" Pettigrew cried as Snape advanced. "You can't do this, I won't let you...I'm telling the truth...!"

"Of course you are," Snape sneered as he froze Pettigrew before pouring three drops into his gaping mouth.

Stepping back, he unfroze him and everyone watched as the floating man's eyes went blank and rather vacant.

"What is your name?" Dumbledore asked.

"Peter Pettigrew," he replied listlessly.

Dumbledore asked him a few more personal questions and after Pettigrew had answered them without hesitance, got down to business.

"Are you a Death Eater?"

"Yes," Pettigrew replied, making McGonagall exclaim under her breath, even though she knew he must be, it was still something of s shock hearing it.

Dumbledore looked very grave as he asked.

"Did you betray Lily and James Potter?"

"Yes."

"Is Sirius Black innocent of betraying them to Voldemort?"

"Yes."

"Did you murder those twelve Muggles to frame Sirius?"

"Yes."

"Have you been masquerading as a rat for ten years, as the Weasleys's pet?"

"Yes."

"Would you return to Voldemort if you could?"

"Yes."

Dumbledore now paused before asking.

"And would you willing give Harry Potter to Voldemort so that he would accept you back?"

"_Yes."_

Harry stood there, face somewhat blank. Flitwick and McGonagall were staring in horror at him as Percy looked like he was going to faint. Filch actually looked rather shocked by this statement while Snape was giving Pettigrew a very cold look. Dumbledore sighed heavily before saying.

"You really are a cowardly excuse for a man, aren't you?"

"Yes."

Dumbledore stood up and said.

"We will have to contact the Ministry at once, Minvera could you handle that?"

"Of course," she said with a nod, getting up and after throwing Pettigrew a highly disgusted look before sweeping from the room.

"Filius, perhaps you could inform the other teachers of this?" Dumbledore asked and the Charms teacher did as asked.

"Severus, I trust you can...take care of Peter?" Dumbledore now said to the Potion's teacher.

"Of course headmaster," Snape said black eyes glittery maliciously.

"Mr Weasley," Dumbledore said gently to Percy as Filch went to Snape's side, no doubt hoping he could help. "Why don't we adjourn to my office, we have to discuss and your parents will need to be informed of this."

His invitation clearly included the trio and they dutifully followed. Despite the earlier action, they had a feeling that it had only just began.

_Author's note. Bit of a cliff-hanger, how do things go in Dumbledore's officer? What does the Ministry and indeed the Ministry think of this? Find out next time, until then. Hope I moved the story along enough for everyone, we shall see._


	20. Chapter 20

_Author's note. I know some people found it a little weak how they seemingly discovered Peter but it was always going to be that way, it would always seem suspicious no matter how they revealed him. I know a lot of people think it was really obvious he was a death eater but honestly, reading the first two books, did you really think Scabbers was a death eater? Yes, there are loads of clues in the third book but we as the reader are handily given them in a few hours while the characters in the books are given them at random intervals throughout almost a whole year. For them, it's not that obvious, they have so many other things taking up their intention, their schoolwork, the Quidditch cup, a mass murderer and their lives in general._

_Until Third year, Scabbers never ever behaved oddly, he was just a lazy but well behaved rat. Frankly, the symptoms he displayed in Third year fits perfectly with an animal reaching the end of its life, with weight and hair loss. And since a large cat kept chasing him, that just makes his condition even worse. Honestly, I don't see how anyone who didn't know about Peter Pettigrew being able to transform would clock that Scabbers was an Animagus. And before you point out 'he lived much longer than a normal rat', well, you do get animals that live much longer than normal, especially pet ones. I think the oldest pet/lab rat was over seven years old but again Scabbers literally never did ANYTHING the least bit threatening, it just wouldn't register that he's living beyond what he should._

_Also, they were never sure if he was a normal rat or a magical one, he was either a long lived normal rat or a magical one that was too lazy to display any abilities. Either way, I do not think three innocent First years, even if they were on the lookout for strange behaviour, would instantly focus on Ron's passive, well behaved family pet. Wizard pets in general probably live to decent ages so again, no alarm bells would ring. And even though Molly bashers will declare that she alone out of the entire world should have clocked him, I always kind of wondered why Remus never spotted him. Sirius managed to recognise him from a black and white photo and since Ron did tend to take Scabbers around with him, surely he would have spotted him? Doesn't really matter, Peter is out in the open now and that's that. I'm not trying to start an argument, just trying to explain how I see it._

_On another note, it's my birthday today and I'm secretly hoping that this chapter will be the one that reaches a whole 1000 reviews, my first story to do so. So if you enjoyed this chapter, please let me know, it'll make my day really special._

_Enjoy and please review._

"You don't have to hold my hand," Ron complained as they trooped towards Dumbledore's office.

Percy ignored him making Ron grumble to himself. Yes, he knew Percy was worried about him because he didn't know anything about the man who'd been masquerading as their pet for ten years but come on.

"Professor?" Percy asked as soon as they were seated. "Can you please find out...just what that...man did while he was...our pet?"

"Of course Mr Weasley," Dumbledore said with a nod, looking very grave. "I shall instruct Professor Snape to find out all he can, although protocol dictates that an Auror be present."

"I understand...I just want to know," Percy stated urgently, adding. "He was my pet for five years."

"_Ah...yeah, that is a good reason to be concerned,"_ Ron realised with a grimace. Percy wasn't just worried about Scabbers perving on his little brother and maybe sister, he was worried that Scabbers had been watching him.

He looked over at Hermione; she was sitting forward and looking somewhat nervous which is how she tended to be if a plan went awry. Which frankly always seemed to happen, it could be rather annoying at times. Harry meanwhile had a quiet excitement about him while attempting to maintain an innocent First year demeanour.

"Petet Pettigrew will be questioned fully about his movements and motivations," Dumbledore told his highly concerned Prefect. "How long do you believe the rat has been with your family, Mr Weasley? Is ten years a good estimate?"

"I believe so sir," Percy said with a frown as he thought about it. "I...I don't really remember us getting him, I just remember when I was little, Charlie somehow got hold of this really tame rat. He probably thought having a rat would be exciting but Scabbers never really did anything..."

He stopped, frowning even more. Dumbledore now said.

"I would guess that Peter wanted to stay with a wizarding family so he would hear any news of his lord's return. It would have been easy enough for him to slip away to another country and start a new life but he did not do that. Perhaps for all his daring in framing Sirius Black, he was unable to take the step of assuming a new identity and living abroad."

"Sir?" Harry asked softly. "Could you tell me about Sirius Black? You said he was one of my dad's friends but this Peter Pettigrew framed him?"

"That is correct," Dumbledore agreed, turning his attention to Harry. "Your father had three best friends, Sirius Black, Peter Pettigrew and Remus Lupin. He was closest to Sirius Black and when you were born..."

Dumbledore hesitated ever so slightly before saying gently.

"He was named your Godfather."

"My Godfather?" Harry repeated. "I don't understand, if he was my Godfather, why would anyone think he was working for Voldemort?"

"It's a rather complicated situation," the old headmaster said gravely. "Sirius's family is notorious for being a dark one with several of his relatives either being Death Eaters or supporters of the Death Eaters. Those were what the followers of Voldemort called themselves," he added in response to Harry's puzzled frown.

"Your parents fought against Voldemort and naturally, this made them targets, they had several narrow escapes. While we tried to fight against him, I strongly suspected that we had a spy on our side who was keeping Voldemort up to date with their movements. Eventually, the situation became so grave that they decided to go into hiding, this was after you were born," Dumbledore explained as Percy looked rather stunned.

"They were meant to be protected by the Feidalius Charm, which involves they staying in a location that is only known to the Secret Keeper, a specially chosen person and who he chooses to reveal the secret to. As long as the Secret Keeper never reveals where they are, no force in the world could find them, not even Voldemort if he stood right outside their front door. Your parents chose Sirius Black to be their Secret Keeper and went into hiding...and then only a week later, Voldemort turned up and murdered them."

Dumbledore paused to allow them to digest this information before continuing.

"Now at the time, it was assumed that Sirius Black must have been the spy all along and had told his Master where the Potters were. And he appeared to make a run for it but was cornered by Peter Pettigrew in the middle of a Muggle street where words were exchanged and Sirius Black blasted Peter and twelve Muggles to pieces."

"Merlin," Percy muttered as Dumbledore added.

"All that was ever found of Peter was his finger and with Sirius standing there laughing, it wasn't difficult for the authorities to conclude that Sirius was guilty and arresting him. Of course we now know it wasn't like that at all, Peter was the traitor and it seems reasonable to conclude that Sirius went after _him."_

"Sir?" Hermione piped up. "What I don't understand is, why didn't Sirius Black tell anyone this? Surely he would have told his defence lawyer all about Peter being an Animagus?"

"Defence lawyer?" Percy repeated dumbly.

"Yes, someone who speaks on the behalf of the accused," Hermione explained before asking. "Don't wizards have anything like that?"

"We have Magical Law enforcement," Dumbledore said to her. "Who investigate crimes and present their findings to the Wizengamot but it is the Wizengamot who decide if someone will be sentenced or not, with a vote from the members. The accused can have a witness for the defence to argue their case if they wish."

"So didn't my Godfather have one?" Harry questioned, already knowing the answer.

"I afraid not," Dumbledore said heavily. "At the time, the Ministry felt that the evidence was so overwhelming, that he was sent straight to Azkaban."

"But why?" Harry asked, feeling genuine outrage. "Surely he deserved a fair trial...were all the followers of Voldemort sent to Azkaban without one?"

As Percy flinched, Dumbledore sighed and said.

"No, most were given a trial but some were simply sent straight there. It is difficult to describe the atmosphere back then to those who weren't there, people were just so very incredibly relieved that Voldemort and his threat was gone that they would have happily sent any number of Death Eaters to Azkaban without trial. There is no real excuse for what happened and I deeply regret that I did more. I'm afraid that I believed he was guilty as well, I honestly did not even consider that Peter would be capable of such a thing, he was never the bravest or cleverest, he seemed to rely heavily on his more talented friends."

"I see," Harry said, he didn't appear to be able to say anything else.

"What happens now, sir?" Percy questioned quietly.

"There will be an investigation," Dumbledore said firmly. "Your parents will have to be informed of what happened naturally."

"Mum'll be furious," Ron said with a slight shudder, remembering her reaction back in Fourth year when she learned that Scabbers had really been a Death Eater in disguise. It had taken quite a while to get her to calm down, she'd been beside herself.

Now looking rather alarmed, Percy said.

"Ah, need we inform mother and father just yet?"

Eyes twinkling slightly, Dumbledore said. "It might be best to talk with the Minister and garner more information from Peter. Better to have answers to your parents' questions than leave them worrying."

"Thank you sir, I think that would be best," Percy said gratefully.

"Sir?" Ron suddenly asked. "That rat said something about Sirius Black feeding Snape...I mean Professor Snape to...Remus? What did he mean by that?"

He was interested to see what kind of answer his headmaster would give, would he answer honestly.

"You must have misheard Ron," Percy immediately stated but Hermione said. "No, I heard it as well, he's not a vampire or something is he?"

"Not a vampire, no," Dumbledore said with a slight chuckle. "Well children, since Sirius will undoubtedly become a part of Harry's life and by extension yours...you are bound to meet Remus Lupin. I would ask you not to judge by what I am going to tell you, he was and still is a fine young man who was Gryffindor Prefect."

This made Percy sit up, a slight frown on his face.

"Remus Lupin was bitten by a werewolf when he was a small boy," Dumbledore said very gently.

"A werewolf!?" Percy repeated in dumbfounded. "But sir...h-how could he have been a Prefect, didn't you know he was a werewolf?"

"I did indeed know that when I accepted him into Hogwarts but he has never shown the slightest inclination to let the monster take over," Dumbledore said calmly. "His greatest fear is that he might turn someone and he has always taken great pains to avoid that. When he was at Hogwarts, he was a quiet, studious boy who only wanted do make everyone proud of him."

"And he was my dad's best friend?" Harry asked and as Dumbledore nodded. "So...is being a werewolf a bad thing? I don't know much about them..."

"Except what you might have seen in Muggle movies?" Dumbledore said with a twinkle in his eye. "Yes, I'm afraid that it is a hard life for those who are bitten, even if they shun the inner monster. The transformation is a agonising process and leaves the sufferer ill for several days before and after. They are incapable of controlling themselves while transformed; they would rip apart their own mother if they could."

"That's terrible," Hermione exclaimed.

"It is a curse," Dumbledore said gravely. "And many succumb to the temptation to simply give in to their inner beast but not Remus. Even though he lost all of his friends on that dreadful night, he has remained a functioning member of wizarding and indeed muggle society. I hope all four of you will give him a chance when you see him."

"I will," Harry said instantly. "He was one of my dad's friends; I want to get to know him. Did my mum like him?"

"She did," Dumbledore assured him. "And she knew about his condition, barely any of the students did except for Remus's very close friends."

"And Professor Snape?" Hermione offered.

"And Professor Snape," Dumbledore agreed. "He stumbled across Remus's secret but accident but that's a story for another time."

"_I'll bet it was,"_ Ron thought, he wondered how Snape would act when it was brought up. Since Harry was on relatively friendly terms with Snape, it wouldn't make sense if he didn't bring it up with the Potion's master.

"So," Harry began. "Sirius...my godfather, what's going to happen to him?"

"I am going to convince the Minister to release him from Azkaban and give him a proper trial," Dumbledore said with quiet conviction before saying gently. "I'm afraid he will not be in good condition, Azkaban is a terrible place for those who reside there, however briefly that might be. He may have to go to St Mungos, the wizard hospital."

"Mum could look after him," Ron suggested so spontaneously that he truly sounded like an eleven year old. He actually surprised himself by asking that, it just suddenly hit him and he asked before he'd thought that idea through.

"Your mum?" Hermione repeated in disbelief as Percy exclaimed. "What are you talking about?"

"I'm just saying," Ron said with a shrug, feeling his ears begin to burn. "She'll be crazy when she finds out about that rat, that Sirius guy could distract her. She loves feeding people up and dad said when he went there, everyone was really thin and stuff. Probably better than St Mungos, that might feel like a cell...or something..."

His voice trailed off as everyone stared at him; he really wasn't used to making speeches that held everyone's attention. That was more Hermione's thing...and Harry's on occasion. But to his astonishment, Dumbledore smiled and said.

"I can't see any harm in suggesting that, it is true that Sirius will need personal human contact to help recover and I have heard stories about your mother's cooking."

Both Percy and Ron flushed at this, their mother could be something of a cooking fiend, no one ever left her home hungry, quite the reverse. Harry's lips twitched as he said.

"That sounds good; I think he deserves to be taken care of."

Just as Dumbledore was about to say something, the floo suddenly flared and Minister Fudge spilled out into the grate, along with Moody and Tonks. Hermione gave a gasp of astonishment while Harry went rather rigid. For his part, Ron was pretty sure he was gaping but thankfully, no one was paying him any attention.

"A trainee?" Fudge was spluttering to Moody who simply ignored him and said

"Hear you've got a Death Eater for us Dumbledore."

His magical eye swept those in the room, making Percy gulp as his normal eye was fixed on Dumbledore. Naturally, it paused on Harry and more importantly his scar but soon moved on again. Tonks smiled in friendly fashion to the children present and greeted Dumbledore warmly.

"Wotcher Professor, how's it going?"

"Exceedingly well Nymphadora," Dumbledore said with a smile, adding as Fudge began to turn a funny colour. "Cornelius, Alastor, I'm grateful you could come."

"Couldn't pass up the chance to give this trainee a bit of hands on experience," Moody growled as Fudge drew himself up before almost deflating as he spotted Harry.

"Goodness, what's Harry Potter doing here?"

Harry's eyes narrowed and Ron had to fight to stop glaring at the portly man. He was the one responsible for their hellish fifth year and he probably hadn't regretted a moment of it. Ron wished he had a good reason to hex the man in front of him but of course, appearances had to be kept up.

"Mr Potter was one of the students who discovered Peter Pettigrew," Dumbledore quickly explained. "Where are my manners, the students you see before you are Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Ronald Weasley and one of our Gryffindor Prefects, Percival Weasley."

He indicated each student as he said their name. Now directing his hand at the adults, he said.

"And here we have the Minister for Magic, Cornelius Fudge, Auror Alastor Moody and trainee Auror Nymphadora Tonks."

"Pleased to meet you," Percy managed to say, his deference to authority kicking in.

"Eh, you two Arthur's boys?" Moody questioned before Fudge could say anything.

"Yeah, he's our dad," Ron answered as Percy nodded.

"Good man," Moody stated. "A little odd but a good man nonetheless."

Percy flushed and looked away but Ron knew that Moody wasn't being insulting. He was just really blunt and their dad's obsession with Muggles could come across as odd to strange or even people who knew him. Hopefully Percy would learn not to be embarrassed when people said things like that or at least could tell the difference between an insult and an observation.

"Yes, yes," Fudge said impatiently. "But are you really sure it's him Dumbledore? All that was found was bloodstained robes and a finger."

"Scabbers was missing a finger on his front paw," Hermione couldn't help but point out. "And we saw him get transformed and the teachers questioned him. He admitted who he was."

"You can question him yourself Cornelius," Dumbledore told him. "With truth serum to ensure his words are true. But all the evidence we've gathered so far indicates that he is a Death Eater who betrayed the Potters and framed Sirius Black."

"Frame Sirius Black? How can that be, he is a mass murderer? It was proven."

"But Professor Dumbledore said Sirius didn't have a trail," Harry pointed out. "Did he have one, Minister?"

"Oh well, ah," Fudge stammered as Harry was looking very intently at him. "No, I mean officially there wasn't exactly a trail but the evidence did seem rather overwhelming..."

"But didn't he ever get a chance to explain his side of things?" Harry persisted. "He could have explained what happened to Pettigrew and about being an Animagus."

"Animagus?" Moody said sharply. "I wasn't told this."

"That is one of the things we have discovered," Dumbledore explained. "Pettigrew masqueraded as the Weasley's family pet for ten years, in order to keep an ear open for news about his master. He transforms into a rat which is why when he is imprisoned, certain measures will have to be taken."

"No kidding," Moody muttered as Fudge looked rather agitated at this new information.

"This will cause a scandal of huge proportions," he muttered distractedly as Dumbledore said. "Undoubtedly it will. But I believe the ones it will affect the most will be the previous government."

As Fudge looked sharply at him, Dumbledore added.

"You've only just come to terms Cornelius, you are most definitely not to blame for what has happened, the government of ten years ago is. Furthermore, if you act swiftly and efficiently, your government would be seen as righting a gross injustice. And you yourself would go down in history as a Minister who did not stand for any kind of corruption."

"You'd be nothing short of a hero," Dumbledore finished as Fudge stared at him but he wasn't looking quite so unhappy. On the contrary, comprehension was beginning to dawn on him.

"That...is a very valid point Dumbledore," he said with a nod as Percy actually said.

"Minister, perhaps if there are other such cases, you could give the remaining Death Eaters a trail? Just to make absolutely sure they belong there and no one will be able to say you did nothing."

He clearly did not like the idea of the rules being circumvented, especially when it came to justice.

"I will look into it, thank you young man," Fudge said with a nod; he was certainly getting into his stride.

Percy flushed brilliantly and looked away, almost as though he couldn't believe he'd actually said that.

"We'd better go down and integrate the suspect," Moody now said. "Come along Rookie."

"Alright, Veteran," Tonks said cheerfully, causing Moody to roll his eyes as he stamped forward with his protégée following on his heels.

With the Aurors gone, Fudge focused on the Hogwarts students again.

"Well well, so you children discovered Pettigrew?"

"Yes sir," they all agreed as he smiled at them.

"Extraordinary, how did you do it?"

"It is a rather fascinating tale," Dumbledore agreed. "Why don't you take a seat Cornelius and they can explain."

Fudge obliged and they began to tell the story of how they'd accidently discovered that Scabbers the rat was really Peter Pettigrew. Fudge had a tendency to interrupt and ask questions, even though he was more at east about the situation, he was still rather shocked by it. In fact, it took so long that by the time they were finished, a sliver Patronus had found its way to Dumbledore's office, forming into the shape of a scraggly ram with very curled horns.

"Everything points to it being Peter Pettigrew," came Moody's growl of a voice from the ram's mouth, a rather disconcerting sight. "We made him transform and performed a brief but thorough questioning of why he was shacked up with the Weasleys. He was there so he'd have a good chance of hearing information while remaining undetected and at the same time, be utterly pampered. The trainee asked him about his feelings towards his _hosts _and their fairly neutral. He enjoyed being so well taken care of and fed but would not bother to help any of them if they were in trouble. That appears to be all for now, you can come down and see him if you want."

The message ended and the ram shook it's self before bounding away into nothing.

"Thank goodness," Percy said in obvious relief, pulling Ron closely.

"I still can't believe it," Fudge murmured, looking over at Dumbledore. "This...this is unprecedented."

"It is mostly definitely that," Dumbledore agreed. "Do you feel it is fair now to at least remove Sirius Black from Azkaban for the time being? He can be placed under temporary guard at St Mungos and be given a chance to recover before the trial. I believe it may make him slightly less resentful if we take instant action."

"Yes you're right," Fudge said, making the trio stare. It was odd to see Fudge so readily agree with Dumbledore, after everything that had happened. "I will contact the office and have someone sent out there."

He glanced at the Weasley boys before coughing and saying. "I believe I shall have to contact Arthur Weasley about this as well. I understand this will cause no small measure of distress but he will have to testify most likely."

"They didn't know anything about Pettigrew," Ron said quickly.

"I know that," Fudge assured him. "But Pettigrew was under their roof for ten years so it is sadly unavoidable. But I'm sure we can clear it up with an interview."

"If you can send those messages, I might take the opportunity to contact Molly Weasley, his wife," Dumbledore stated. "They will need to be equally informed about this so that we can proceed swiftly."

Twinkling at his pupils, he said.

"You better make yourself comfortable, this may take a little while."

He waved his wand and summoned a plate of sandwiches and a beaker of pumpkin juice, obviously from the kitchens. While Percy was a little bemused, the trio were extremely relieved that they were going to be kept in the picture. Dumbledore was shrewd enough to know that Molly would want to be able to see her children, especially Ron and assure herself that they were fine.

This was turning out to be very interesting.

_Author's note. It's not really said when Moody retired but wiki does say that Tonks became an Auror in 1994 and since she trained under Moody, I think it was probably round about 1994 that he retired. But I think it's safe to assume he was still an Auror in Harry's first year as Auror training takes three years. It also makes sense that it was that in 1994 he was available, rather than say the previous one when a mass murderer was on the loose. In the next chapter, how does Molly and Arthur react to the news? What about Sirius, how is he doing? Find out next time, until then._


End file.
